qualcosa Italian · revision 37533

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1400, Franco Sacchetti}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kwalˈkɔ.za/, /kwalˈkɔ.sa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''qualcosa''' ''m''^(Wiktionary)

+ Also written separately, ''qualche cosa''.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+ Before ''altro'' the final vowel is elided: ''qualcos’altro''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|qualche|cosa]], the phrase written as one word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Wiktionary compares [[fr|quelque chose]].^(Wiktionary) The first element comes from [[quale]] and [[che]]: DELI derives it from the phrase “quale che sia” (whichever it be), and Nocentini from indefinite phrases in which “qual che sia luogo” (whatever place it be) was shortened to “qual che luogo” by dropping the verb.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The noun goes back to [[la|causa|t=cause; matter, affair]], which through the sense “affair” took the place of [[m|la|rēs|t=thing]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Franco Sacchetti, before 1400, in the sense “one or more things”.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the word to before 1535, and Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti to the 16th century.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Tommaseo treats it as an indeclinable feminine noun and remarks that writing it separately would be ambiguous; among his quotations is Vincenzo Borghini's “Pare che ragionevol cosa sia dire di Fiesole qualcosa” (it seems a reasonable thing to say something about Fiesole).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In modern Italian the agreement is mostly masculine, but the noun ''cosa'' inside it still allows the feminine at times, as in Pirandello's “certo qualcosa gli sarà accaduta” (something must surely have happened to him).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ Fixed expressions include ''qualcosa come'' (as much as), ''è già qualcosa'' (that's something, better than nothing) and ''ne so qualcosa io'' (I know all about it).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) With the indefinite article it became a noun, ''un qualcosa'', “a certain something”, and less commonly it means an important person.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Its diminutives are ''qualcosina'' and ''qualcosetta'', and ''qualcosuccia'' is pejorative.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses ''qualcosa''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – GRADIT's date for the word.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 16th century – Nocentini's and Devoto–Oli's date.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|something]]; in questions, [[m|en|anything]]: ''posso portarti qualcosa dal mercato?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Followed by ''di'' and an adjective, or by ''altro'': ''vorrei leggere qualcosa di leggero'', ''desidera qualcos’altro?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # In ''qualcosa come'', as much as: ''ha aspettato qualcosa come tre ore''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' An important person: ''in pochi anni si è fatto qualcosa nel mondo del cinema''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''un qualcosa'': a certain something, a vague element: ''nel suo sguardo c’era un qualcosa di triste''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[qualcosina]]

+ * [[qualcosetta]]

+ * [[qualcosuccia]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[qualche]]

+ * [[cosa]]

+ * [[qualcuno]]

+ * [[niente]]

+ * [[fr|quelque chose]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}