di Italian · revision 37456

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 12th century, Pisan ship's account|origins=itc-pro *dē}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /di/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''di'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dē|t=from, down from; about]], with the unstressed ⟨e⟩ raised to ⟨i⟩ because the word leans on the one that follows.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968)^(Nocentini 2010) The Italian form already appears in a Medieval Latin document of Chiusi of 746–747.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The same word is [[fr|de]], [[oc|de]], [[ca|de]], [[es|de]], [[pt|de]], [[ro|de]] and [[sc|de]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) In late Latin and in Romance “de” took over the functions of the genitive.^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) The sense of origin developed into that of possession, as [[en|of]] did from [[ang|of|alt=æf]] “from”; the partitive and the sense of material were already Latin.^(Nocentini 2010) Italian expresses origin with the newer [[da]], and Romanian never developed the possessive sense.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Latin “dē” has sure comparisons only in Celtic: [[sga|di]] and [[cy|di-]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012) Wiktionary traces it through [[itc-pro|*dē]] to [[ine-pro|*déh₁|t=towards]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first Italian record is a Pisan ship's account of the early 12th century.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|19, 342) The ''Ritmo laurenziano'', from before 1198, has the form ''de''.^(LEI|19, 342)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Latin preposition already had many senses, and Late and Medieval Latin added instrumental, comparative and genitive uses; in Italian ''di'' is by far the most frequent preposition, and competes with ''con'', ''a'', ''per'', ''in'' and above all ''da''.^(LEI|19, 342) Old texts still use ''de'' beside ''di'', from Dante's ''Vita Nuova'' to Petrarch, and in many northern dialects.^(LEI|19, 342)

+

+ The articulated forms ''del'', ''dello'' and the others come from ''de'' and the forms of Latin ''ille''.^(Prati 1951) In the 19th century purists attacked the partitive ''di'' after another preposition (''con dei amici'') as a Gallicism.^(DELI 1999) In bureaucratic, commercial and journalistic language it is often left out between two nouns (''scalo merci'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 746–747 – A Medieval Latin document of Chiusi has the form ''di''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Early 12th century – A Pisan ship's account has the first Italian record.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1198 – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has ''de''.^(LEI|19, 342)

+ * 1228 – An inventory of San Gimignano uses ''di''.^(LEI|19, 342)

+ * 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''di'' for possession and specification.^(LEI|19, 342)

+ * 1741 – ''Di'' is recorded as the name of the letter d.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|of]], marking possession, belonging or specification: ''la macchina di Paolo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With the article, [[m|en|some]] (partitive): ''Vuoi del pane?''^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of, among, after a superlative: ''il più alto di tutti''.^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|than]], in comparisons: ''È più giovane di me.''^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # From, marking origin or separation: ''Sono di Napoli.'' ''uscire di casa''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # About, concerning: ''parlare di sport''.^(Wiktionary)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Made of, marking [[m|en|material]]: ''un anello d'oro''.^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # With, from, marking a cause: ''morire di fame''.^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # In, marking time: ''di notte'', ''d'estate''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # Before an infinitive, to (often untranslated): ''Ho deciso di partire.''^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[d'accordo]]

+ * [[di nuovo]]

+ * [[di solito]]

+ * [[di colpo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[da]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Di'' is elided to ''d’'' before a vowel in many fixed phrases, and with the article forms ''del'', ''dello'', ''della'', ''dei'', ''degli'' and ''delle''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) A minor homograph is ''di'', the name of the letter d, recorded from 1741.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|4) The accented ''dì'' “day”, from Latin ''dies'', is a different word.^(Prati 1951)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}