nessuno Italian · revision 37547

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1250, Giacomino Pugliese|origins=la nē, la ipse, la ūnus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /nesˈsu.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nessuno''' (feminine nessuna, no plural, superlative nessunissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and popular Tuscan has ''nissuno'';^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Prati 1951|696) Old Sicilian has ''nesù'' and Old Bolognese ''neson''.^(DEI|2575)

+ Literary Italian had the plurals ''nessuni'' and ''nessune''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DEI|2575)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It continues a spoken Latin phrase, [[inh|la|nē|t=not]] [[m|la|ipse|t=self]] [[m|la|ūnus|t=one]], “not even one”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini and GRADIT give it in the accusative, ⟨ne ipsum unum⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The same phrase gave [[fro|nesun]] and [[pro|neisun]].^(DEI|2575)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) DEI calls it typical of Apennine Italy, while northern Italy, like [[pro|negun]], [[ca|ningú]] and [[es|ningún]], continues [[la|nec|t=and not]] [[m|la|ūnus]], as in [[vec|negun]] and [[lmo|negün]].^(DEI|2575) Dialect forms include [[nap|nisciuno]], [[sc|nisciunu]], [[fur|nissun]] and [[lij|nisciùn]].^(Wiktionary) Meyer-Lübke notes that the consonants of the Italian forms have not been fully explained.^(REW 1935)

+

+ Latin [[m|la|nē]] goes back to [[ine-pro|*ne|t=not]].^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan derives [[m|la|ipse]] from a doubled pronoun, [[itc-pro|*e(s)-pe-so]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Giacomino Pugliese, before 1250, with the sense “not one, not even one”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the word also had a positive sense, “any”, in doubtful and comparative clauses: Petrarch writes that his days fled “più leggier che nessun cervo” (lighter than any deer).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Petrarch also has the truncated pronoun ''nessun'' (“Nessun di servitù giammai si dolse”), now only literary.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010) The positive sense survives in questions such as ''c'è nessuno?'' (is anyone there?).^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ''Terra di nessuno'' is a calque of English ''no man's land'', coined by the British in the First World War; the ''Corriere della Sera'' used it from 1917, and Panzini's dictionary recorded it in 1918.^(DELI 1999) Used as a noun, ''un nessuno'' is a person of no importance.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomino Pugliese uses the word.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 13th century – Old Sicilian ''nesù'' and Old Bolognese forms are recorded.^(DEI|2575)

+ * 1917 – ''Terra di nessuno'' appears in the ''Corriere della Sera''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1918 – Panzini records ''terra di nessuno''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Determiner===

+ # [[m|en|no]], not a single: ''nessun treno parte oggi''; after the verb with ''non'': ''non ho nessuna fretta''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In questions and doubtful clauses, [[m|en|any]]: ''hai nessuna idea migliore?''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|nobody]], no one, none: ''nessuno ha risposto'', ''in piazza non c'era nessuno'', ''nessuno dei miei amici''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # In questions, [[m|en|anybody]]: ''mi ha cercato nessuno?''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(figurative)'' A nobody, a person of no account: ''si crede importante, ma non è nessuno''.^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[niuno]]

+ * [[veruno]]

+ * [[alcuno]]

+ * [[uno]]

+ * [[la|ipse]]

+ * [[la|ūnus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Before a noun it behaves like the article ''uno'': ''nessun libro'', ''nessuno studente'', ''nessun'altra''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) After the verb it needs a second negation (''non ha chiamato nessuno''), but not before it (''nessuno è venuto'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) It has an emphatic superlative, ''nessunissimo''.^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003) Set phrases are ''figlio di nessuno'' (a foundling), ''terra di nessuno'' (no man's land) and ''non guardare in faccia a nessuno'' (to spare no one).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}