lo Italian · revision 37458

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano|origins=la ille}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /lo/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Dialectal: /o/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lo''' ''m'' sg (plural gli)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*illu|alt=*(il)lu]], from [[la|ille|t=that]] in the accusative ⟨illum⟩, with the first syllable and the final ⟨-m⟩ lost.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) The article and the pronoun are the same word.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) In some dialects the masculine accusative gave [[scn|lu]] and only the neuter ⟨illud⟩ gave “lo”, though DELI warns that the distribution is not as clear as is sometimes claimed.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) Old dialect texts have “lu” too, as in the Ritmo cassinese.^(GDLI|9)

+

+ The pronoun is the same word as [[fr|le]], [[oc|lo]], [[ca|el]] (also ⟨lo⟩), [[es|lo]], [[pt|o]] and [[ro|-l]].^(Nocentini 2010) The alternation of the Italian article forms “il”, “lo” and “l’” has drawn proposals from structural and generative linguists, one of which derives both article and pronoun from an underlying /o/.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Both the article and the pronoun are first found in the ''Ritmo laurenziano'' at the end of the 12th century.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the word to about 1224.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''lo'' could stand before any consonant, especially at the start of a line or after a consonant, as in Dante's ''Lo spazzo era una rena arida e spessa'' (“The ground was a dry and dense sand”, ''Inferno'' 14.13).^(GDLI|9)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) Today this survives only in ''per lo più'' and ''per lo meno'', and ''il'' has taken over before a single consonant.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ Using the pronoun ''lo'' for a whole preceding clause began in the 18th century, probably under French influence;^(DELI 1999) Migliorini cites an example from Cesarotti.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo and Bellini record the sense “that” in 1869.^(DELI 1999) The sense “such” (''non lo è'') was condemned by Fanfani in 1863 as an affectation of people imitating foreign ways.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has both the article and the pronoun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1224 – GRADIT's date for ''lo''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1306–1321 – Dante still uses ''lo'' before a single consonant (''lo bello stilo'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ * 18th century – ''Lo'' begins to refer to a preceding clause, probably under French influence.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1863 – Fanfani condemns ''lo'' in the sense “such”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo and Bellini record ''lo'' “that, it”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Article===

+ # The, the form of [[il]] used before masculine singular words beginning with s and a consonant, z, x, gn, ps, pn or i before a vowel; before a vowel it becomes ''l’'': ''lo zaino'', ''lo studente'', ''l'albero''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Before a single consonant, only in ''per lo più'' and ''per lo meno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(literary, archaic)'' The, before any consonant.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|him]], [[m|en|it]], as a direct object: ''Lo vedo domani.'' ''Prendilo pure.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # It, that, referring to a whole clause: ''Lo sapevo che sarebbe successo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # So, such, standing for a predicate after ''essere'' or ''diventare'': ''Sembrava facile, ma non lo è.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # With the impersonal ''si'': ''Non lo si vede da mesi.''^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[io]]

+ * [[tu]]

+ * [[Lei]]

+ * [[lui]]

+ * [[egli]]

+ * [[lei]]

+ * [[ella]]

+ * [[noi]]

+ * [[voi]]

+ * [[Loro]]

+ * [[il]]

+ * [[la]]

+ * [[gli]]

+ * [[la|ille]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural of the article is ''gli'', and of the pronoun ''li''.^(Treccani 2011) With the prepositions the article forms ''allo'', ''dallo'', ''dello'', ''nello'', ''sullo'' and ''collo''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Before ''pn'' careful usage prescribes ''lo'' (''lo pneumatico''), but ''il pneumatico'' is more common.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}