loro Italian · revision 37539

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211, Florentine account book|origins=la ille}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlo.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''loro''' (third person plural, masculine and feminine, invariable; poetic ''lor'')^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ Old Italian also has the shortened form [[roa-oit|lo']], as in the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio''.^(GDLI|9, 223)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|illōrum|t=of those]], the genitive plural of [[la|ille|t=that]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DELI calls the use of the genitive instead of the dative exceptional, and explains it, following Bourciez and Tekavčić, by the dative's having become the unstressed form.^(DELI 1999) In late Latin the genitive took over the work of the dative and ablative.^(DEI|2271)^(GDLI) The same form is [[fr|leur|t=their; to them]] and [[ro|lor]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ As a possessive the word keeps the original sense “of those”, and as a stressed pronoun it serves the third person plural.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record of the pronoun “they, them” is in a Florentine account book of 1211; the possessive adjective is in the Breve di Montieri of 1219, a Tuscan statute.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Sabatini–Coletti dates the shortened ''lor'' to the 12th century.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''loro'' was above all an indirect object, “to them”, often without a preposition, as in Dante's ''Vita nuova'': “salutando loro dissi” (greeting them I said).^(GDLI|9, 223) Giacomo da Lentini uses the possessive before 1250, and Dante writes “per difender lor ville e lor castelli” (to defend their towns and castles, ''Inferno'' 15).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|9, 224) The possessive pronoun “theirs” is rare in Dante, and the plural ''i loro'' “their family, their relatives” is in Matteo Villani before 1363.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ As a subject ''loro'' spread in spoken Italian at the expense of ''essi'' and ''esse'', and it is required where the subject is stressed or contrasted.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The polite ''Loro'', the plural of ''Lei'', is now uncommon and usually replaced by ''voi''.^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – A Florentine account book has ''loro'' “they, them”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1219 – The possessive ''loro'' in the Breve di Montieri.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses the possessive.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses ''il loro'' “theirs”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1363 – ''I loro'' “their relatives” in Matteo Villani.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|them]], after a preposition: ''esco con loro'', ''parlavamo di loro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # To them, as an indirect object, with or without ''a'': ''ho scritto loro una lettera''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Them, as a stressed direct object: ''cercavo loro, non voi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|they]], as a subject, especially in speech or when stressed or contrasted: ''loro vanno al mare, noi restiamo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(formal, often written Loro)'' You, as a polite plural.^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Determiner===

+ # [[m|en|their]]: ''la loro macchina'', ''i loro nipoti''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|theirs]]: ''la nostra casa è più piccola della loro'', ''i loro'': their family or friends.^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coloro]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lui]]

+ * [[noi]]

+ * [[voi]]

+ * [[il]]

+ * [[la|ille]]

+ * [[fr|leur]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Phrases include ''beati loro!'' (lucky them), ''contenti loro, contenti tutti'' and ''stare dalla loro'' (to be on their side).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) In bureaucratic style ''il di loro'' replaces the possessive.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) In the spoken language ''gli'' is often used for ''loro'' as an indirect object (''gli ho scritto'').^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ Separate ''loro'' nouns are a leather strap or a bird's bare stripe between bill and eye, a learned word from Latin ''lōrum'', and a parrot, from Spanish ''loro''.^(DEI|2271)^(GDLI|9, 224)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}