la Italian · revision 37461

+ {{homograph|1|the; her, it}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=963, Memoratorium of Teano|origins=la ille}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /la/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Dialectal: /a/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''la''' ''f'' sg (plural le)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The article and pronoun is [[inh|la|ille|alt=illa|t=that]], the feminine of the demonstrative ⟨ille⟩ “that”, in its nominative ⟨illa⟩ and accusative ⟨illam⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The demonstrative was already used in “weakened” ways in classical Latin, and its value as an article appears in medieval charters from northern Italy from the 8th century.^(DELI 1999) According to Rohlfs, the weakening of ⟨ille⟩ to an article shows in the Vulgate as a transitional usage and more clearly from the 6th century, perhaps encouraged by the Greek article.^(GDLI|8)

+

+ The same feminine form gave the articles [[fr|la]], [[oc|la]], [[ca|la]], [[es|la]] and [[pt|a]] and the suffixed article [[ro|-a]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907) Sardinian alone took its article from [[la|ipse]] instead.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The pronoun is recorded first, in the Memoratorium of Teano of 963.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record of the article is the ''Ritmo laurenziano'' of the late 12th century, ''benedicente bascio la mano'' (“blessing, I kiss the hand”), in the reading accepted by Arrigo Castellani;^(DELI 1999) Gianfranco Contini had removed the word from the verse, which is one syllable too long.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti date the article to the 11th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an object pronoun ''la'' refers back to a feminine person or thing, and also serves as the polite form of address, even to a man (''La prego'', written with a capital in letters).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Without a clear referent it stands for an unnamed “thing, matter” in many idioms, such as ''chi la fa l'aspetti'' “what goes around comes around” and ''me la pagherai'' “you'll pay for this”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) In Tuscan and northern speech it is also a weak subject pronoun, as in Manzoni's ''la c'è, la c'è'' (“it is there, it is there”).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ The article before a woman's name or surname (''la Duse'') is recorded from the 14th century.^(DIFIT)^(GDLI) French took it in the 17th century before the names of Italian stars and prima donnas, and English ''La'' is recorded in the same use from 1869, later also ironically before the name of any woman.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – The article is used in Latin charters from northern Italy.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 963 – The pronoun is recorded in the Memoratorium of Teano.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has the article in ''bascio la mano''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The article is used before women's names.^(DIFIT)

+ * c. 17th century – French uses ''la'' before the name of an Italian star.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1869 – English ''La'' is first recorded before the name of a prima donna.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Article===

+ # [[m|en|the|alt=The]], before feminine singular nouns; elided to ''l’'' before a vowel: ''la casa'', ''l'isola''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Before a woman's surname, the name of a famous woman, or (regional, colloquial) a woman's first name: ''la Deledda'', ''la Silvia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With a comparative, forming the relative [[m|en|superlative]]: ''la più bella''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(object)'' [[m|en|her]], it.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(formal)'' You, as the polite object pronoun, also to a man (often written ''La'').^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In idioms, standing for an unnamed thing or matter.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(regional, Tuscany and northern Italy)'' A weak subject pronoun: she, it.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|2|musical note}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1527, Machiavelli|origins=la labium}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈla/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''la''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The musical note is [[bor|la-med|la]], the sixth of the syllables with which Guido d'Arezzo (c. 995–1050) named the notes of the scale.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) He took them from the first syllables of the half-lines of the hymn to Saint John the Baptist, “Ut queant laxis resonare fibris”, whose melody rises by one note at the start of each half-line.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) “La” is the first syllable of ⟨labii reatum⟩ “the guilt of the lip”, from [[la|labium|t=lip]], in the third line, “Solve polluti labii reatum” (“remove the guilt from the unclean lip”).^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) The other names are [[fa]], [[mi]], [[re]], [[sol]] and the later [[si]] and [[do]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first Italian record is in Niccolò Machiavelli, before 1527, in a list of the sung syllables: ''e' ti spicca un “ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la”'' (“he rattles off an ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la at you”).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI|8, 649) DIFIT cites an earlier musical record of 1508.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The syllable names stayed in use in the Romance-speaking countries, while German and English name the note with the letter ''A''.^(DEI|2143)^(Wiktionary) French ''la'' is recorded about 1223, three centuries before the first Italian record.^(DIFIT) The note is today the A of 440 hertz given by the tuning fork, used to tune voices and instruments,^(GDLI|8, 649) which explains the phrase ''dare il la'' “to give the A”, figuratively “to set the tone, to start something off”.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ German has used ''La'' for the note since 1732, and had in 1650 ''Lami'' (''la'' + ''mi'') for a dissonant sequence of notes.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1223 – French ''la'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1508 – A musical text has ''la''.^(DIFIT)

+ * Before 1527 – Machiavelli lists ''ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1650 – German ''Lami'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1732 – German ''La'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(music)'' The sixth note of the natural major scale of C; [[m|en|A]]: ''la bemolle'', ''la minore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' The string or key of an instrument that gives this note.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(music)'' The [[m|en|key]] whose tonic is this note: ''sonata in la minore''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[la maggiore]]

+ * [[la minore]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[il]]

+ * [[lo]]

+ * [[le]]

+ * [[quella]]

+ * [[la|ille]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''La'' is also the chemical symbol of [[lantanio]] (lanthanum).^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003) The note is masculine (''il la'') and invariable.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}