Etymologically
Log in

ultimo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word ultimo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1304–1308, Dante
Borrowed from
Latin ultimus
Ultimate origin
Latin ultimus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ultimus
Italian ultimo
From the same root
Latin ultimo ← ultimus
Italian ultimamente ← ultimo

Pronunciation

  • /ˈul.ti.mo/[1]

Forms

ultimo (feminine ultima, masculine plural ultimi, feminine plural ultime, superlative ultimissimo)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin ultimus (“farthest, last”).[2][3][1] The Latin word is the superlative of a comparative stem seen in ulterior (“farther”), from the archaic adverb uls (“beyond”).[2][3][4][5] It goes back to Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos, the source also of an Oscan superlative.[1] Devoto connected the adverb with the old demonstrative stem seen in ollus (“that”) and ōlim (“once”), and with oltre.[6]

DEI records popular forms such as Tuscan ⟨ùtimo⟩ and an Abruzzese form.[7] The same learned word is French ultime and Spanish último.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest dated use is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308), for “the most recent”; the basic sense “final, coming at the end” is in Zucchero Bencivenni in 1310 and in Dante before 1321.[2] Dante's Convivio says “Noi siamo già ne l'ultima etade del secolo” (we are already in the last age of the world).[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The figurative senses followed quickly: “lowest in importance or worth” in Giordano da Pisa before 1311, and in Dante both “worst” and its opposite “highest, supreme”.[2] As a noun ultimo “the last one” is in Dante, and “the final moment” in Franco Sacchetti before 1400.[2] Annibal Caro (before 1566) uses it for the remote past or future.[2]

Several phrases have special origins: ultima istanza comes from legal language, avere l'ultima parola from parliamentary language, le ultime parole famose from the title of humorous cartoons, and in ultima analisi is a calque of French en dernière analyse.[2] Ultimo grido “latest fashion” renders French dernier cri.[7] Newspapers called their last edition ultimissima (1955), and le ultimissime are the latest news (1957, Carlo Emilio Gadda).[2]

German borrowed Ultimo in 1509 as a business word for the last day of a period, especially of a month.[9]

Timeline

  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses ultimo for “most recent”.[2]
  • 1310 – Zucchero Bencivenni uses it for “final”.[2]
  • Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for “lowest in worth”.[2]
  • 1509 – German Ultimo is recorded.[9]
  • 1670 – Francesco Redi uses ultimamente for “recently”.[2]
  • 1955 – Ultimissima “last edition of a newspaper” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. last, coming after all the others in a series, in time or in space: l'ultima fermata.[4][10][11]
  2. Further, one more; also final, definitive: un’ultima occhiata.[4][11]
  3. Most recent, latest: il suo ultimo libro.[4][11][1]
  4. Farthest, most remote in space or in time.[4][11]
  5. (figurative) Lowest in rank, worth or importance; also, in literary use, highest or fundamental.[2][12][13]
  6. quest'ultimo, the latter, the one just mentioned.[4]

Noun

  1. The last one, in a series, a queue or a ranking.[1][10][11]
  2. The last day of a month or period, in phrases such as all'ultimo.[9][12]

Word family

Usage notes

In appositive use it is usually preceded by per: intervenire per ultimo.[10][13] Buon ultimo is said jokingly of someone who comes last.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 459
  7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3947
  8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21
  9. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Derived terms

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

“Ultimo.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/ultimo. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·