spesso
Pronunciation
Forms
spesso (feminine spessa, masculine plural spessi, feminine plural spesse, superlative spessissimo)[1]
Etymology
It is inherited from Latin spissus (“thick, dense”).[2][3][4][1] The adverb “often” is the adjective used adverbially, through the sense “numerous, frequent”.[4][5][6] The word is panromance: French épais, Occitan espés, Catalan espès, Spanish espeso, Portuguese espesso, Sardinian ispissu and Aromanian spes.[3][7] Only Italian also uses it for “often”.[7]
According to de Vaan the Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *spisso-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *spid-to-; its likeliest relatives are Greek glosses such as Ancient Greek σπιδνός (spidnós, “thick, dense”), and Lithuanian spìsti (“to begin to swarm”) may also belong here.[8][3]
Spessore is French épaisseur.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Both uses are recorded before 1250: a poet of the Sicilian school has the adjective in the sense “numerous, frequent”, and Giacomo da Lentini the adverb “often”.[2][4] Giacomo da Lentini also has the adverb spessora.[9]
Semantic evolution
The physical senses are recorded later: “dense” in Bono Giamboni before 1292, “thick, dense (of a wood)” in Zucchero Bencivenni in 1310, and “having a certain thickness” about 1350.[2] Dante's earthly paradise is “la divina foresta spessa e viva” (the divine forest, dense and living).[4] The plural spesse volte “many times” and Foscolo's a spessi tocchi (with repeated strokes) keep the sense “frequent”, now literary.[4][1]
Spessore, borrowed in 1824, was disapproved by Tommaseo–Bellini in 1873 as a scientific word used in place of grossezza.[2] The adverb is common in the phrase spesso e volentieri, “often, all too often”.[4]
Timeline
- Before 1250 – Sicilian poets use spesso “frequent” and Giacomo da Lentini the adverb “often”.[2]
- Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses spesso “dense”.[2]
- 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni uses it for “thick, dense”.[2]
- About 1350 – “Having a certain thickness” in the translation of Crescenzi.[2]
- 1824 – Spessore “thickness” is recorded.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
- thick, of more than usual thickness; having a given thickness: Taglia il pane a fette spesse.[4][5][1]
- dense, of a certain consistency: Una nebbia spessa copriva la pianura.[4][1]
- Of a wine, full-bodied.[4]
- (literary) Thick, dense, impenetrable, of a wood or growth.[4]
- (literary, plural) Many, frequent; repeated in quick succession: spesse volte.[4][1]
Adverb
Word family
- spessore
- ispessire
- spesseggiare
- spessimetro
- ispessimento
Related words
- spessare
- spessità
- spessitudine
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
- ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
- ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3588