Etymologically
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voi

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Pronunciation

Forms

voi[1] Old forms are vui (13th century, Jacopone, Dante, Manzoni still uses it, after Old Sicilian), vu and vàie.[2][3] Popular Tuscan elides it to vo’.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vōs (“you (plural)”).[5][6][7][1] The word is panromance: French vous, Occitan vos, Catalan vos, Spanish vos, Portuguese vos, Sardinian vois, Romansh vus and Romanian voi.[5][8] Nocentini explains the stressed form ⟨voi⟩ as an analogy with lui and lei, Devoto as the usual replacement of a final ⟨-s⟩ by ⟨-i⟩, as in noi and poi;[5][9][10] Sabatini–Coletti calls the ⟨-i⟩ of uncertain origin.[5][9][10] The unstressed Old Italian form ⟨vo⟩ was replaced by vi.[5]

The Latin pronoun goes back to Proto-Italic *wōs, originally an accusative that replaced the old nominative Proto-Indo-European *yúHs.[11][1] Sanskrit and Avestan kept separate forms for the two cases, while Old Church Slavonic вы (vy) shares the Latin innovation.[5][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to about 1250.[5][6] DELI's first record of the plural is in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, and of the polite singular in Dante, 1300–1313.[12]

Semantic evolution

Latin vōs was used for a single person as a plural of majesty from the emperor Gordian III (before 244), and the use spread steadily.[12] Dante addresses Brunetto Latini with it: “Siete voi qui, ser Brunetto?” (Inferno 15).[4] As a noun, il voi, it is in Dante, and dare del voi (to address someone with voi) is in Giovanni Della Casa, 1551–1554.[12]

In Old Italian voi could be an indirect object without a preposition, as in Dante's “Che basti a render voi grazia per grazia” (that would suffice to give you thanks for thanks).[13] It is still used for one person in central and southern Italy, and in commercial letters addressed to a firm.[4][1]

Timeline

  • Before 244 – Latin vōs as a plural of majesty under Gordian III.[12]
  • About 1250 – First record of voi.[5][6]
  • End of the 13th century – The plural in the Novellino.[12]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses voi for one person, as a mark of respect.[12]
  • Before 1321 – Voialtri in Dante.[12]
  • 1551–1554 – Dare del voi in Giovanni Della Casa.[12]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. you (plural), as a subject, expressed for emphasis or contrast: voi restate, noi andiamo.[6][14][10]
  2. As an object and after a preposition: verremo da voi, lo dico per voi.[6][13]
  3. (regional, formal, often written Voi) You, addressing one person with respect or distance, especially in southern Italy and in business letters.[4][1]
  4. With a generic sense, people in general: se voi guardate i dati…[6][15]

Noun

  1. il voi: the pronoun voi as a form of address, in dare del voi.[12][6]

Word family

  • voialtri

Usage notes

As a subject voi is usually left out, since the verb shows the person; it is expressed for contrast, emphasis, or with stessi, anche, nemmeno.[6][10][15] Beati voi! (lucky you!) and poveri voi! are common exclamations.[14] The unstressed form is vi, or ve before lo, la and ne.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 4080
  3. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 974
  4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli