due Italian · revision 37531

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=second half of the 12th century, Affitti della Badia di Coltibuono|origins=ine-pro *dwóh₁}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdu.e/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''due''' (invariable)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ In the 14th century the forms ''due'', ''dui'', ''duo'' and ''dua'' were in use, and in the 16th century also ''doi'', ''duoi'' and ''du’''.^(DELI 1999)

+ Popular speech has ''du’'' before a noun.^(Prati 1951|394)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|duo|t=two]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) GRADIT and Wiktionary take it from the feminine [[m|la|duae]],^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) while DEI and Devoto start from the masculine [[la-lat|dui]] of later Latin that replaced classical ⟨duo⟩.^(DEI|1399)^(Devoto 1968|154) Nocentini explains the Italian form as the survivor of an Old Italian opposition between masculine ⟨dui⟩ and feminine ⟨due⟩: Old Italian ⟨duo⟩ continues the Latin masculine and neuter, and ⟨dua⟩ the neuter ⟨dua⟩ found in Latin inscriptions.^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary adds that ⟨due⟩ may have won because it stood between the other forms in sound.^(Wiktionary) A trace of the distinction of genders survives in Piedmontese and Lombard dialects.^(DEI|1399) The word is panromance: [[fr|deux]], [[oc|dos]], [[ca|dos]], [[es|dos]], [[pt|dois]] and [[m|pt|duas]], [[sc|duos]] and [[m|sc|duas]], [[ro|doi]] and [[m|ro|două]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The Latin numeral continues [[itc-pro|*duō]], from [[ine-pro|*dwóh₁]], a dual.^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) It has cognates in every branch of Indo-European: [[grc|δύο|tr=dúo]], [[sa|द्व|tr=dvá]], [[cu|дъва|tr=dŭva]], [[lt|dù]], [[sga|dáu]] and [[ang|twā]], the ancestor of the English numeral.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the rent records of the abbey of Coltibuono (''Affitti della Badia di Coltibuono''), at the end of the 12th century;^(DELI 1999) GRADIT and Nocentini date it to the second half of that century.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) The sense “a few, a small amount” is recorded before 1300 in Rustico di Filippo.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ DELI, quoting Migliorini, traces the competition of forms: in the 15th century ''due'' was used mainly before feminine nouns or at the end of a phrase, and in the 16th century authors used two or three forms, either at random or by gender, position and the following sound.^(DELI 1999) Poets tended to keep ''duo'' for the masculine and ''due'' for the feminine, as in Petrarch's ''duo amanti'' and ''due rose fresche'', a rule followed by Ariosto and Tasso;^(DELI 1999) ''dua'' was frequent in Florentine prose (Machiavelli, Gelli, Guicciardini) and was criticized by Salviati.^(DELI 1999) The Crusca dropped the gender distinction and recommended ''due'' in prose and ''duo'' in verse, and ''due'' finally prevailed in the 17th century.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The vague sense “a few” lives in many phrases: ''fare due passi'' (to take a short walk), ''scambiare due parole'' (to have a short chat), ''a due passi'' (very close).^(GRADIT 2003) German took ''due'' as a musical term in 1732.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 12th century – First record, in the rent records of the abbey of Coltibuono.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1300 – Rustico di Filippo uses it for “a few”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Due'', ''dui'', ''duo'' and ''dua'' are all in use.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 17th century – ''Due'' prevails over the other forms.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1732 – ''Due'' is recorded as a musical term in German.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|two]]: ''ho comprato due biglietti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A few, a small amount: ''aspetta due minuti, arrivo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ # After a noun, second, as an ordinal: ''il binario due''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The number two, and the figure 2: ''tre più due fa cinque''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''le due'', two o'clock.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[duemila]]

+ * [[duepezzi]]

+ * [[duetto]]

+ * [[duino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[duale]]

+ * [[dualità]]

+ * [[dualismo]]

+ * [[la|duo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Fixed phrases include ''come due gocce d’acqua'' (as like as two peas), ''avere due pesi e due misure'' (to have double standards) and ''contare come il due di picche'' (to count for nothing).^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}