uno Italian · revision 37440

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano|origins=ine-pro *h₁óynos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈu.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''uno''' ''m'', '''una''' ''f'' (plural, as a pronoun, '''uni''', '''une''').^(Wiktionary) Before a vowel and most consonants the masculine is shortened to ''un'' (''un cane'', ''un albero''); ''uno'' stays before ''s'' plus consonant, ''z'', ''gn'', ''ps'' and ''x'' (''uno zaino'', ''uno studente''). The feminine is elided to ''un’'' before a vowel (''un’isola'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|ūnus|t=one; single, alone]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word served both as a numeral and in the sense “same” (“uno tempore” “at one time”); already in Plautus it can mark a single person (“unam vidi mulierem” “I saw a woman”), the start of its use as an indefinite article.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 556) In all the Romance languages “ūnus” also became the indefinite article, set against the definite one.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|un]], [[oc|un]], [[ca|un]], [[es|uno]], [[pt|um]], [[sc|unu]] and [[ro|un]], and [[dlm|yoin]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ Latin “ūnus” is from Old Latin [[m|la|oinos]], from [[itc-pro|*oinos]] and [[ine-pro|*h₁óynos|t=one, single]].^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) The basic sense was “alone, unique”, kept in part by Latin and by [[lt|vienas|alt=víenas|t=one; alone]], and in [[grc|οἰνή|tr=oinḗ|t=the one on a die]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) The numeral sense is shared with Germanic, as in [[got|𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃|tr=ains]] and [[en|one]], and with Celtic, as in [[sga|óen]] and [[cy|un]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the ''Ritmo laurenziano'' of the late 12th century, in ''d'in un tempo'' “at one and the same time”, with the sense “one only, a single”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to the second half of the 12th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The indefinite article is recorded in Dante's ''Vita nuova'' (1293–1294), the numeral for a quantity and the pronoun “someone” in his works of 1300–1313, and the pronoun “this one” in Boccaccio (1340–1342).^(DELI 1999) Before a number it could mean “about”, in Boccaccio (1348–1353).^(DELI 1999) The noun “the number one and its sign” is recorded before 1565 in Benedetto Varchi, and the literary sense “united, undivided” in 1891.^(DELI 1999) Manzoni's line ''Liberi non sarem se non siamo uni'' (“We shall not be free unless we are one”) uses that sense in the plural.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ Phrases such as ''numero uno'' “the best, the leader” and ''uno o due'' “one or two, a few” are common.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003) The feminine ''una'' “one” passed into the 19th-century Polari slang of English, by way of the lingua franca.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''D'in un tempo'' in the ''Ritmo laurenziano''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1293–1294 – Dante uses ''uno'' as the indefinite article.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it as a numeral and as the pronoun “someone”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “about, roughly”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses ''uno'' as a noun for the number one.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Mid-19th century – ''Una'' “one” is recorded in English Polari.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1891 – The literary sense “united, undivided” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|one]]: the number 1, the first natural number after zero: ''Ho un fratello e due sorelle.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # After a noun, as an [[m|en|ordinal]]: first: ''pagina uno'', ''l'articolo uno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The same: ''essere un cuore e un'anima'', to be very close.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(literary)'' Undivided, united: ''una nazione una e libera''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ===Article===

+ # [[m|en|a]], an: the indefinite article, for someone or something not yet identified: ''C'è uno studente che ti cerca.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In exclamations, “such a”: ''Ho una fame!''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|someone]], a person: ''È venuto uno a chiedere di te.''^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # One (of two or more), with ''altro'': ''l'uno e l'altro'', ''l'un l'altro'' “each other”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[qualcuno]]

+ * [[ognuno]]

+ * [[ventuno]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[un]]

+ * [[unico]]

+ * [[unire]]

+ * [[unità]]

+ * [[nessuno]]

+ * [[ciascuno]]

+ * [[la|ūnus]]

+ * [[en|one]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Un'' before a masculine noun is never written with an apostrophe, while the feminine ''un’'' is (''un amico'', ''un’amica'').^(Zingarelli 2010) Before ''pn'' careful usage keeps ''uno'' (''uno pneumatico''), but ''un'' is spreading.^(Zingarelli 2010) For the hour, ''l'una'' is the usual form.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}