così Italian · revision 37524

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Ritmo lucchese|origins=la ecce, la sīc}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /koˈzi/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Traditional: /koˈsi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''così'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had ''cusì'' (13th century).^(DEI|1130)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*eccum sīc]], a strengthened form of [[la|sīc|t=so, thus]] with [[m|la|eccum|t=here he is, behold]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) By surface analysis it is [[ecco]] + [[sì]].^(Wiktionary) Latin ⟨eccum⟩ was a contraction of [[m|la|ecce|t=behold]] and probably an old accusative of [[m|la|hic|t=this]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Close parallels are [[dlm|coisa]], [[fur|cussì]], [[vec|cusì]], [[scn|accussì]] and [[sc|gósi]].^(Wiktionary) The other Romance languages strengthened the Latin adverb differently: [[fro|ensi]], modern [[fr|ainsi]], comes from ⟨in sic⟩ and [[oc|aissi]] from ⟨ac sic⟩, while [[es|así]] took an ⟨a-⟩ from the demonstratives, the initial of a Vulgar Latin [[m|la-vul|*accum]] beside ⟨*eccum⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the temporal use with ''quando'' (as soon as), in the Ritmo lucchese of the early 13th century.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini, GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti also date the word to the 13th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250, already uses it for “in this way”, “so much” and “therefore”, and in comparisons with ''come''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Beside “in this way”, Old Italian used ''così'' for “to such a degree that” (1304, Giordano da Pisa) and “although” (1348–1353, Boccaccio).^(DELI 1999) Dante has “Che li pesi / fan così cigolar le lor bilance” (whose weights make their scales creak so, ''Inferno'' 23).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Compounds grew from it: ''cosicché'' “so that” (about 1300), ''cosiffatto'' “such” (written separately in Dante, 1304–1308, and as one word in 1865) and ''cosiddetto'' “so-called”, written separately in a Milan newspaper of 1802 and as one word by Croce in 1936.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The doubled ''così così'' means “so-so”, often with a rocking gesture of the hand.^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ French borrowed the doubled form as ''coussi coussi'' (1648), the modern ''couci-couça''.^(DEI|1130)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – ''Così'' with ''quando'' in the Ritmo lucchese.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''così'' for “in this way” and “so much”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1300 – ''Cosicché'' “so that” is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1304 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for “to such a degree that”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “although”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1648 – French ''coussi coussi'' is recorded.^(DEI|1130)

+ * 1802 – ''Così detto'' in a Milan newspaper, ''cosiddetto'' as one word follows in 1936.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|so]], [[m|en|thus]], in this way, in that way: ''non si fa così'', ''così va meglio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # With a gesture, describing size or shape: ''un pesce lungo così''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To such a degree, so: ''sei così stanco?'', ''è così tardi!''^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''così così'': so-so, neither good nor bad: ''l'esame è andato così così''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Strengthening ''pure'' or ''anche'': likewise: ''lui ha accettato e così pure il fratello''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # So, therefore: ''pioveva, così siamo rimasti a casa''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In comparisons with ''come'': ''come semini, così raccogli''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''così … che'', ''così … da'': so … that: ''era così buio che non vedevo nulla''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable, after a noun)'' Such, like that: ''un'occasione così non torna''.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cosicché]]

+ * [[cosiddetto]]

+ * [[cosiffatto]]

+ * [[cosà]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sì]]

+ * [[ecco]]

+ * [[la|sīc]]

+ * [[fr|ainsi]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''e così via'' (and so on), ''basta così!'' (that's enough), ''per così dire'' (so to speak) and ''e così sia'' (amen, so be it).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) Wiktionary gives the pronunciation /koˈzi/ beside the traditional /koˈsi/.^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}