Etymologically
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zitto

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡zit.to/, /ˈt͡sit.to/[1]

Forms

zitto (feminine zitta, masculine plural zitti, feminine plural zitte)[1]

Etymology

It is an imitative word.[2][3][4][5][1] Nocentini explains it as a Romance onomatopoeia built on the consonant /ts/ and the front vowel /i/, used first to stand for the faintest sound one can make, in phrases such as “senza fare zitto” “without a word”.[3] Meyer-Lübke and Körting put it with other sound words calling for silence: Romanian cit, French chut, Spanish chito and Portuguese chiton.[6][7][5] Compare Sicilian zittu.[1]

Vittore Pisani proposed in 1948 that it comes from Latin quiētus (“quiet, at rest”), through a series of changes in the first syllable and a doubled ⟨t⟩ as in lettera;[2] DELI finds that this needs too many assumptions, and Clemente Merlo argued again for an imitative origin in 1950.[2] Devoto saw it as a Tuscan form of an imitative series.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 14th century, in Boccaccio and Giovanni Villani, far zitto meant “to make the least sound”;[2][9] Zingarelli dates the word to 1353.[2][9] Boccaccio writes “senza far motto o zitto alcuno” (without a word or a whisper).[9] The adjective “silent” and the interjection are first recorded in Benedetto Varchi (before 1565), who lists among the Italian ways of saying “to be silent” the phrase “chiudila, sta' zitto” (shut it, keep quiet).[2][10][11]

Semantic evolution

The extended sense “who does not speak up or stand up for his rights” is recorded before 1742, in Giovan Battista Fagiuoli, and far stare zitto “to force someone to be quiet” in 1891.[2] Writers from Tassoni and Foscolo to Manzoni and Verga use stare zitto for keeping quiet, Manzoni saying of a parish priest that “se ne starà zitto” (he will keep quiet about it).[10] Tommaseo also notes sta' zitto as a way of drawing someone's attention.[11]

The verb zittire “to hiss someone into silence”, especially singers, actors or speakers the audience dislikes, is recorded from Daniello Bartoli (1670); its transitive use was criticized by purists, as Panzini noted in 1905, but became established.[2] Azzittire follows in the 18th century and zittio “hushing” in 1942.[3] The noun zitto “whisper” survives in literary use, as in non sentire uno zitto “not to hear a sound”.[12][9]

Timeline

  • 1353 – Boccaccio uses zitto for the faintest sound.[9][2]
  • Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses zitto as an adjective and as an interjection.[2][4]
  • 1670 – Daniello Bartoli uses zittire.[2]
  • Before 1742 – Fagiuoli uses stare zitto for not standing up for one's rights.[2]
  • 1891 – Far stare zitto is recorded.[2]
  • 1942 – Zittio is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. silent, not speaking: I ragazzi ascoltavano zitti in fondo all'aula.[4][13][12][1]
  2. stare, rimanere zitto: to keep quiet, also not to protest or not to reveal what one knows: Quando l'hanno accusato, è rimasto zitto.[4][13][9]
  3. far stare zitto: to make someone be quiet, by persuasion or force.[4][13][14]
  4. zitto zitto: in complete silence; on the quiet, without being noticed.[4][13][9]

Interjection

  1. Be quiet!, hush!, also as a threat; it agrees with the person addressed: Zitti, sta arrivando il professore![4][12][14][1]

Noun

  1. (rare, literary) A whisper or faint sound, mostly in non sentire uno zitto, “not to hear a sound”.[4][12][9]

Word family

  • zittire
  • azzittire
  • zittio
  • Spanish chito
  • French chut

Usage notes

Wiktionary gives the initial ⟨z⟩ as either /dz/ or /ts/, and Zingarelli allows both.[1][9] Intensive phrases include zitto e mosca and zitto come l'olio.[13][2][15] Alla zitta “on the sly” is uncommon.[13][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 1083
  11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  13. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli