ma Italian · revision 37450

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Girardo Patecchio|origins=la magis}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ma/, /ˈma/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|magis|t=more; rather]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) It went through an older form [[roa-oit|mai]], recorded in early texts, which lost its last vowel;^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI ties the loss to the general dislike of vowels in hiatus in Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The adverb [[mai]] “ever” comes from the same Latin word.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

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+ From “more”, Latin [[m|la|magis]] came to mean “rather” (as in “non…, sed magis”), and this explains its later use for contrast;^(DELI 1999) Catullus already has “id non est turpe, magis miserum est” (“that is not shameful, rather it is wretched”).^(DELI 1999) Used together with [[m|la|sed|t=but]] in the phrase “sed magis” (“but rather”), it took on the meaning of “sed” and replaced it, and in spoken Latin it also displaced [[m|la|autem|t=however]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) The sense “more” survives at the edges of the Romance area: [[es|más]], [[pt|mais]], [[ro|mai]].^(Nocentini 2010) As a conjunction the word is [[fr|mais]], [[oc|mas]], [[ca|mes]], [[sc|ma]] and [[rup|ma]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

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+ Latin “magis” is formed on the root of [[m|la|magnus|t=great]] with a reduced form of the comparative suffix.^(OLD 2012) Nocentini treats it as a variant of [[m|la|maius]], the neuter of the comparative of “magnus”.^(Nocentini 2010) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*m̥ǵh₂-is]], beside the full comparative [[ine-pro|*méǵh₂yōs]].^(Wiktionary) DELI calls its formation unexpected.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The conjunction appears early in the 13th century in Girardo Patecchio, and before 1250 in Giacomo da Lentini, opposing two parts of a sentence or two clauses.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Giacomo writes: ''Dunque, moriraio eo? / No, ma lo core meo / more spesso e più forte'' (“So shall I die? No, but my heart dies often and harder”).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante already strengthens ''ma'' with other adverbs and conjunctions;^(DELI 1999) DELI counts 1,142 instances of conjunctions of this kind in his works.^(DELI 1999) Combinations such as ''ma però'' and ''ma tuttavia'' remain colloquial.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Boccaccio has ''Io dirò forse una cosa incredibile, ma vera'' (“I shall perhaps say something incredible, but true”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ Beside opposition, ''ma'' came to open a sentence that moves to a new subject or returns to an old one, to give emphasis to questions and exclamations (''ma davvero?''), and to intensify a repeated word (''è freddo, ma freddo'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) As a noun, “an objection, a doubt”, it is recorded before 1400 in Franco Sacchetti.^(DELI 1999) Its derivatives include ''macché'' “not at all”, recorded as ''mache?'' by Florio in 1598 and in its modern spelling in 1902, and the interjection of doubt ''mah'', from before 1542.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – First record, in Girardo Patecchio.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''ma''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante combines ''ma'' with other adverbs and conjunctions.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1400 – The noun ''ma'' “objection” in Franco Sacchetti.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1542 – The interjection ''mah''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1598 – Florio records ''mache?''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1902 – ''Macché'' in Cesare Pascarella.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|but]]: opposes two parts of a sentence with the same function, or two clauses: ''è piccolo ma robusto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # After a negative: but rather, [[m|en|instead]]: ''non a Roma, ma a Napoli''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # In ''non solo… ma anche'': not only… but also.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Intensifying a repeated word: ''è caro, ma caro davvero''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # At the start of a sentence, moving to another subject or back to the main one: ''ma torniamo a noi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Giving emphasis or irony to questions and exclamations: ''ma sei sicuro?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(invariable)'' A [[m|en|doubt]], [[m|en|objection]] or hesitation: ''basta con i tuoi ma''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[macché]]

+ * [[mah]]

+ * [[massì]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mai]]

+ * [[maggiore]]

+ * [[la|magis]]

+ * [[fr|mais]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ma'' is also written for the interjection ''mah'', which expresses doubt or resignation.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) In Tuscan it doubles the following consonant, as fixed in the spelling of ''macché''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}