qualcuno Italian · revision 37501

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1354, Iacopo Passavanti}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kwalˈku.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''qualcuno''' (feminine qualcuna, no plural)^(Wiktionary)

+ Before ''altro'' it is shortened to ''qualcun'', and before ''altra'' it is elided: ''qualcun’altra''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) A popular, Tuscan and literary plural ''qualcuni'' existed.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|it|qualche|uno]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The first part is [[qualche]], formed from [[quale]] and [[che]]: DELI derives it from ⟨quale che (sia)⟩, and Nocentini explains that phrases such as ⟨qual che sia luogo⟩ “whatever place it may be” became ⟨qual che luogo⟩ when the verb was dropped.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini notes that [[fr|quelque]] went through the same development, and Wiktionary compares [[m|fr|quelqu'un]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Körting set out a base [[la|quālis]] with [[m|la|quam]] and [[m|la|ūnus]], and for the variant [[qualcheduno]] doubted that its ⟨d⟩ was inserted to avoid hiatus, preferring a form with [[m|la|et|t=and]].^(Körting 1907) Nocentini explains that ⟨d⟩, in a variant recorded from the 16th century, by the old form ⟨ched⟩ of ⟨che⟩ before a vowel.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Iacopo Passavanti, 1354, in the sense “some, a few”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Tommaseo quotes his question “Or chi potrà scampare di tanti lacciuoli, che non sia preso da qualcuno?” (Who will escape so many snares without being caught by one of them?).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “one person, somebody” is in Ser Giovanni in the second half of the 14th century: “que’ che ’l vi dice è qualcuno che mi vuole male” (he who tells you so is someone who wishes me ill).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|15, 39) Petrarch still used ''qualcuna'' as an adjective, “qualcuna saetta” (some arrow), where the modern language has ''qualche''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The use as a noun for a person of some standing, as in ''essere qualcuno'', is recorded by Zingarelli in 1922.^(DELI 1999) Treccani sets it against ''nessuno'', a person who counts for nothing.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1354 – Iacopo Passavanti uses ''qualcuno'' for “some, a few”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Second half of the 14th century – Ser Giovanni uses it for “somebody”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – The variant ''qualcheduno'' appears.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1922 – Zingarelli records ''qualcuno'' “an important person”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|someone]], somebody, a person not identified: ''qualcuno ha lasciato un messaggio per te''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|anyone]], in questions: ''c'è qualcuno?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Some, a few, of people or things, often with a partitive: ''qualcuno dei miei colleghi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # With ''altro'': someone else: ''chiedi a qualcun altro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An important or successful person, in ''essere qualcuno'', ''diventare qualcuno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[qualche]]

+ * [[qualcosa]]

+ * [[qualcheduno]]

+ * [[uno]]

+ * [[nessuno]]

+ * [[fr|quelqu'un]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The phrase ''combinarne qualcuna'' means to get up to one of one's usual tricks.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The old adjectival use, “some”, is now archaic.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}