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Etymology and origin of the Italian word su

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
end of the 13th century, Novellino
Inherited from
Latin susum
Ultimate origin
Latin vertō

Pronunciation

Forms

su (combines with the article as sul, sullo, sulla, sui, sugli, sulle)[2] Old forms are suso, so, sun and suné.[3][4] Old Italian also had sur before a vowel, especially u.[5][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Italian suso, shortened;[6][7][8][9] the Old Italian word is inherited from Latin sūsum (“up, upward”), the assimilated variant of sūrsum.[10][9][1] The Latin adverb comes from *subvorsum “from below upward”, with sub and vorsum, an old form of versum “turned toward”, from vertō (“to turn”).[10][9][11][4] The word is panromance: Old French sus, Occitan sus, Catalan sus, Spanish suso, Portuguese suso, Sardinian susu, Friulian su, Dalmatian sois and Romanian sus.[9][12]

DEI notes that the 14th century still preferred ⟨suso⟩, keeping the short form for compounds such as lassù and insù.[4] Devoto explains the doubling of the following consonant after the word, as in suddetto, by analogy with the old preposition ⟨so(b)⟩.[11][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are in the Novellino, at the end of the 13th century, both as a preposition of position and motion (“on, onto”) and as an adverb (“up, upward”).[10] GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Nocentini date the word to the second half of the 13th century.[6][7][9]

Semantic evolution

In early texts su already meant “on top of”: Jacopone writes of Christ “su ne la croce appiso” (hung up on the cross), and Dante of “la trista riviera d'Acheronte” on whose bank they will stop.[3] The exclamation of encouragement or command (su!, “come on!”) is in Boccaccio, 1353.[10]

Later centuries added abstract uses: approximation in time (sul far del giorno), recorded before 1321 in Dante; approximate age, before 1638 in Chiabrera; and the topic (“about, on”), first in the Milanese press in 1800.[10] Approximate price, weight and measure were recorded in 1960, and the duration “for about” in 1970.[10] Combinations with su gave the adverbs insù (14th century), suvvia (1757) and suppergiù (1863).[9]

Timeline

  • End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses su as preposition and adverb.[10]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses su for approximate time.[10]
  • 1353 – The exclamation su! in Boccaccio.[10]
  • 14th century – Insù is recorded.[9]
  • 1757 – Suvvia is recorded.[9]
  • 1800 – Su “about, on (a topic)” in the Milanese press.[10]
  • 1863 – Suppergiù is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. on, upon, on top of, with or without contact: il gatto dorme sul divano, un ponte sul torrente.[6][7][13]
  2. onto, with verbs of motion; also into a vehicle: la neve cade sui tetti, montare sul tram.[6][7]
  3. Facing, overlooking: una camera sul mare.[6][14]
  4. Over, expressing authority or influence: regnare su un vasto territorio.[6][13]
  5. about, on a topic: un saggio su Leopardi.[10][8][1]
  6. About, around, in approximate time, age, price or measure: sul tardi, un uomo sui sessant'anni.[10][8][14]
  7. Out of, in proportions: tre studenti su dieci.[1][8]
  8. In phrases of manner: su misura, su richiesta.[1][8]

Adverb

  1. up, upward; upstairs: guarda su!, la nonna è su in camera.[6][8][1]

Interjection

  1. Come on!, urging or encouraging: su, sbrigati!.[6][1][10]

Word family

  • insù
  • suppergiù
  • suvvia
  • lassù
  • quassù

Usage notes

Before a stressed personal pronoun the preposition takes di: contate su di me.[7][2] Common phrases are su e giù (up and down, back and forth), su per giù (more or less), su due piedi (on the spot), mettere su casa (to set up home) and tirarsi su (to cheer up).[6][14][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20
  4. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3665
  5. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 430
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  13. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Su.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/su. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·