tu Italian · revision 37467

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Novellino|origins=ine-pro *túh₂}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈtu/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tu''' (second person singular)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|tū|t=you (singular)]], the nominative and vocative of the second person singular pronoun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) It is panromance: [[fr|tu]], [[oc|tu]], [[ca|tu]], [[pt|tu]], [[es|tú]], [[sc|tue]] and [[ro|tu]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Old Italian also had a form ⟨tue⟩, which Tommaseo still heard in popular Tuscan in the 19th century.^(DEI|3923)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861|4, 1622)

+

+ The pronoun belongs to the common Indo-European vocabulary: [[grc|τύ|tr=tú]] (in Doric), [[ae|tū]], [[lt|tù]], [[hy|դու|tr=du]], [[cu|ты|tr=ty]] and [[got|𐌸𐌿|tr=þu]], whence [[de|du]] and [[en|thou]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary reconstructs [[ine-pro|*túh₂]] through [[itc-pro|*tū]].^(Wiktionary) De Vaan notes that the Anatolian forms, such as [[hit|zik]], point to an older nominative ⟨*ti(H)⟩, which may have been replaced by ⟨*tu(H)⟩ after Anatolian had separated from the rest of the family.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DEI dates the first record to the 13th century, in the ''Novellino'';^(DEI|3923) GRADIT and Nocentini give a date before 1295,^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) and DELI's first example is from Dante, before 1321.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The choice between ''tu'', ''voi'' and ''Lei'' as forms of address has a long history and a large literature, with studies of its use in the ''Decameron'' and in ''I promessi sposi''.^(DELI 1999) The phrase ''dare del tu'', to address someone as ''tu'', is recorded in the 16th century in Annibal Caro;^(DEI|3923) compare [[fr|tutoyer]].^(DEI|3923) Italian formed ''tuteggiare'' and ''tueggiare'' on the same model.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3923)

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+ Old Italian could join the pronoun to a preceding verb, as in Dante's ''vedestù la scritta morta'' (“you saw the dead inscription”, ''Inferno'' 8.127).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Today it is used only as a subject and is usually left out; the object and the cases with prepositions use ''te'' and ''ti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – The ''Novellino'' has ''tu''.^(DEI|3923)

+ * Before 1295 – GRADIT's and Nocentini's date for the pronoun.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''tu''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – Annibal Caro uses ''dare del tu''.^(DEI|3923)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|you]] (singular), addressing someone with whom one is on familiar terms; used only as a subject and usually left out: ''Tu che ne pensi?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Placed after the verb for emphasis: ''Decidi tu.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Strengthened by ''stesso'', ''anche'', ''nemmeno'' or ''proprio'': ''l'hai detto tu stesso''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The familiar form of address, as in ''dare del tu'' (to address someone as ''tu'') and ''a tu per tu'' (face to face).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tuteggiare]]

+ * [[tueggiare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[te]]

+ * [[ti]]

+ * [[tuo]]

+ * [[la|tū]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After ''come'' and ''quanto'' in comparisons, Italian uses ''te'' (''corre quanto te''), and ''te'' also in exclamations such as ''povero te!''.^(Treccani 2011) In Tuscany ''tu'' causes doubling of the following consonant.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DiPI) Popular Tuscan elides it before a vowel (''t'avevi ragione'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}