dove Italian · revision 37514

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1292, Bono Giamboni|origins=ine-pro *kʷu-dʰi}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdo.ve/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dove''' (invariable; elided ''dov’'' before ''è'')^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ Old and dialect forms include ''duve'', ''due'' and ''dua'', and the shortened ''do’''.^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ Regional forms are ''addó'', ''ndo'' and ''indove''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|dē|t=from]] and [[m|la|ubi|t=where]], the phrase ⟨dē ubi⟩ “from where”, which took the place of the simple adverb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DEI|1388) The simple Latin word survives as literary [[ove]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(GDLI) Wiktionary allows a second explanation: a strengthening of ⟨ove⟩ with a prefixed ⟨d-⟩.^(Wiktionary) Tommaseo compares the ⟨d-⟩ of [[donde]] beside Latin [[m|la|unde]].^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Similar compounds are [[vec|indove]] and [[co|indove]], with Latin [[m|la|inde]], and [[sc|inue]];^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1388) Wiktionary compares [[pms|doa]] and [[fr|d'où]].^(Wiktionary) The simple adverb is panromance: [[fr|où]], [[oc|o]], Old Spanish ⟨o⟩, Sardinian ⟨ue⟩ and the now obsolete [[ro|iu]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Latin ⟨ubī⟩ has lost an initial ⟨k-⟩ that is kept in the compound [[m|la|alicubi|t=somewhere]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan derives it from [[itc-pro|*kʷuþei]], from [[ine-pro|*kʷu-dʰi]] or [[m|ine-pro|*kʷu-bʰi]], built on the interrogative stem [[m|ine-pro|*kʷu-]];^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) related forms are [[osc|puf]], [[sa|कुह|tr=kúha]], [[ae|kudā]] and [[cu|къде|tr=kŭde]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first records are in Bono Giamboni before 1292, both as an interrogative, “in what place”, and as a relative, “in the place where”;^(DELI 1999) GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the second half of the 13th century and DEI to the 14th.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1388) GDLI quotes Giamboni's advice that a commander should keep secret “dove l'oste dee andare” (where the army is to go).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a conjunction ''dove'' meant “while, whereas” in Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294.^(DELI 1999) Boccaccio used it for “if” (“e dove non vi piacesse”, and if it should not please you) and for “since”, senses that the modern language keeps only in literary style.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Dante made a noun of it, “place”, in ''Paradiso'' 3: “Chiaro mi fu allor com'ogni dove / in cielo è paradiso” (it was clear to me then that everywhere in heaven is paradise).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Bembo still treated ''ove'' and ''dove'' as equivalents, with the poetic shortening ''u’'',^(DELI 1999) but ''dove'' became the ordinary word and ''ove'' a literary one.^(GDLI) The noun survives in ''per ogni dove'' “everywhere” and ''il dove e il quando'' “the where and the when”.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''dove'' as an interrogative and a relative adverb.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it as a conjunction, “while”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1300 – ''Dovunque'' “wherever” is recorded in Rustico.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''dove'' as a noun, “place”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “if”.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|where]], in what place, in questions and exclamations: ''dove hai lasciato l'ombrello?''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # With ''da'', ''di'' or ''per'': from where, through where: ''da dove arriva questo treno?''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # In relative clauses: in the place where, in which: ''torniamo dove eravamo ieri'', ''la casa dove sono cresciuta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # In correlations, in some places: ''dove più, dove meno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # ''(literary)'' [[m|en|if]], in case: ''dove fosse necessario, chiamami''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary)'' Whereas, while.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(invariable)'' Place, especially in ''il dove e il quando'' and ''per ogni dove''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dovunque]]

+ * [[laddove]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ove]]

+ * [[donde]]

+ * [[la|ubi]]

+ * [[fr|où]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Dove'' is elided obligatorily only before ''è'' (''dov'è?'').^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In Tuscan the adverb causes doubling of the next consonant, but the noun does not.^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Set phrases include ''non sapere dove sbattere la testa'' (not to know which way to turn) and ''chissà dove'' (who knows where).^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}