le Italian · revision 37490

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=960|origins=la ille}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''le''' (article and pronoun ''f pl'', singular [[la]]; dative pronoun ''f sg'')^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The article and the object pronoun “them” are [[inh|la|ille|t=that]] in the feminine plural, with the first syllable lost.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) Most dictionaries start from the nominative plural ⟨illae⟩,^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Nocentini 2010) while Wiktionary starts from the accusative ⟨illās⟩.^(Wiktionary) The article is a Romance innovation, made from the Latin demonstrative;^(Nocentini 2010) Sardinian alone took its article from [[m|la|ipse]].^(Nocentini 2010) The same plural forms are [[fr|les]], [[oc|las]], [[ca|les]], [[es|las]], [[pt|as]] and [[ro|-le]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The dative ⟨le⟩ “to her” has a separate history: it comes from [[la-vul|*illae]], a form made on the model of the datives of feminine nouns of the first declension such as [[m|la|puella|alt=puellae|t=to the girl]], in place of classical [[m|la|illī]], which served for both genders.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) Zingarelli describes [[m|la|ille]] itself as made of two elements of uncertain interpretation.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the article and the accusative pronoun to 960,^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini to the 11th century,^(Nocentini 2010) and Zingarelli to before 1237.^(Zingarelli 2010) The dative “to her” follows about 1250 according to GRADIT.^(GRADIT 2003) DEI dates it to the 13th century and records it, in the old language, also as a masculine “to him” in the 14th century.^(DEI|2189)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old texts use the dative freely: in the ''Novellino'' Sir Tristan, ''quando ... le volea parlare'' (“when he wanted to speak to her”), went to a fountain in the king's garden and muddied its stream as a signal.^(GDLI|8, 867) In the old language and in verse the article was often elided before a vowel, as in Petrarch's ''lungo l'amate rive'' (“along the beloved banks”);^(Treccani 2011) Tommaseo still describes the elision as common in 1869,^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861|2, 1780) while modern usage keeps the full form, and forms such as ''l'ali'' and ''l'ore'' belong to poetry or regional speech.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ The dative became the form of courteous address with ''Lei'', used to men as well as women and often written ''Le'' in letters.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) With a feminine plural reference (“to them”) it is uncommon, though Treccani quotes it from Giovanni Arpino and notes it in speech.^(Treccani 2011) The accusative also has an indefinite neuter use in idioms such as ''le pensa tutte'' (“he thinks up every trick”) and ''le spara grosse'' (“he tells tall tales”).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) In popular Tuscan ''le'' is also a pleonastic subject, a shortening of ''elle'', as in Manzoni's ''le son ciance'' (“they are idle talk”).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 960 – GRADIT's date for the article and the pronoun “them”.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 11th century – Nocentini's date for the article.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1237 – Zingarelli's date for the article and pronoun.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * c. 1250 – The dative “to her” is recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 14th century – The dative is also used for “to him”.^(DEI|2189)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Article===

+ # The, before feminine plural nouns, whether they begin with a consonant or a vowel: ''le finestre'', ''le amiche''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Before a family name, the women of one family: ''stasera vengono le Ferraro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In telling the [[m|en|time]]: ''sono le cinque''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|them]], referring to feminine plural nouns, as a direct object: ''Le chiavi? Le ho lasciate in macchina.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With an indefinite neuter sense, in idioms: ''le pensa tutte''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # [[m|en|her|alt=To her]], to it (feminine), as an indirect object: ''Quando vedi Giulia, le dai questo libro?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(formal)'' To you, in courteous address with ''Lei'', to a man or a woman; often written ''Le'' in letters: ''Le posso offrire un caffè?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(Tuscan, popular)'' They, as a pleonastic feminine subject.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la]]

+ * [[il]]

+ * [[lo]]

+ * [[gli]]

+ * [[i]]

+ * [[la|ille]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ With the prepositions the article forms ''alle'', ''dalle'', ''delle'', ''nelle'' and ''sulle''; with ''con'' the separate ''con le'' is normal, and ''colle'' is spoken or literary.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Before the pronouns ''lo'', ''la'', ''li'', ''le'' and ''ne'' the dative becomes ''glie-'' and is written together with them: ''gliele'', ''glielo''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) In speech the dative is often replaced by ''gli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ The GDLI also records a rare feminine noun ''le'', a boatmen's word for the strip of land between a river and the road along it, from Old French ''lé'' “width”.^(GDLI|8, 869)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}