modo Italian · revision 37603

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=ine-pro *med-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɔ.do/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''modo''' ''m'' (plural modi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had [[m|roa-oit|muodo]], still found in the dialects of Arezzo and Venice.^(DEI|2485)^(Prati 1951|670)^(GDLI)

+ The shortened form ''mo’'' survives in ''a mo’ di'' “by way of”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|modus|t=measure; rule; manner]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DEI places it in an Italian tradition that is half learned, and Prati thinks the form came by the literary route, while the dialects of Arezzo and Venice have a diphthong, as in an inherited word.^(DEI|2485)^(Prati 1951|670) Kept forms elsewhere are [[fro|muef]], [[pro|mo]], [[ca|mou]], [[osp|muedo]] and [[rm|mied]] “melody”; [[fr|mode]] and [[es|modo]] are learned, like the Italian.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2485)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ In Latin the noun meant “measured amount, size, limit”, and it took on special senses in music, grammar, architecture, agriculture, law and philosophy.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) As a philosophical term it translated [[grc|τρόπος|tr=trópos]].^(DEI|2485) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*modós|t=measure]], from the root [[m|ine-pro|*med-|t=to measure]], which is also in [[m|la|medeor|t=to heal]] and [[m|la|meditor|t=to reflect]] ([[medico]] and [[meditare]]).^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan compares Umbrian ⟨mers⟩ “law” and [[grc|μήδεα|tr=mḗdea|t=counsels, plans]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for “means, expedient, opportunity”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Iacopone da Todi, before 1306, uses it for the way something is or acts: “Tre modi fa a l’anema peccato percussure” (in three ways sin strikes the soul).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses it for “custom, style” in 1304–1308, and Francesca says of her death in ''Inferno'' 5: “e 'l modo ancor m'offende” (and the manner of it still hurts me).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The musical sense, the order of tones and semitones in a scale, is in Domenico Cavalca before 1342, and French took it over as a semantic loan in 1703.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) DELI finds the grammatical sense “mood” in the 14th century, while DEI dates it from Varchi in the 16th.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2485)

+

+ The plural ''modi'' “manners” appears around 1375, ''modo di dire'' “idiom” in Giovan Battista Gelli before 1563, and “limit, rule” in 1564.^(DELI 1999) In law the Latin form ''modus'' was taken up in 1892 for a burden placed on the receiver of a gift.^(DEI|2485) The derivative ''modalità'' (1789) was opposed by the purists as a Gallicism.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''modo'' for “means, opportunity”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “custom, style”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses it for “manner of being or acting”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses the musical sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The grammatical sense “mood” appears.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1375 – The plural is used for “manners”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1563 – Gelli uses ''modi di dire'' for idioms.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1703 – French borrows the musical sense of ''mode''.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1789 – ''Modalità'' appears.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|way]], [[m|en|manner]] in which something happens or is done: ''Mi ha risposto in un modo sgarbato.'' With ''in'' and an adjective it forms adverbial phrases (''in modo strano'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Usually plural, [[m|en|manners]], behaviour towards others: ''ha modi bruschi con i clienti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Style, habit; one's own way or taste: ''fa tutto a modo suo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Method, means of reaching an aim: ''Bisogna trovare un modo per uscirne.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Opportunity, chance: ''Non c'è stato modo di avvisarti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Proper limit, measure: ''bere senza modo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(grammar)'' [[m|en|mood]] of a verb: ''il modo congiuntivo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' [[m|en|mode]], the arrangement of tones and semitones in a scale.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law)'' A burden imposed on the receiver of a gift or legacy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|2485)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[modale]]

+ * [[modalità]]

+ * [[ammodo]]

+ * [[smodato]]

+ * [[smodatezza]]

+ * [[trasmodare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[moda]]

+ * [[modico]]

+ * [[moderare]]

+ * [[modesto]]

+ * [[modificare]]

+ * [[la|modus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''in qualche modo'' “somehow”, ''ad ogni modo'' “anyway”, ''di modo che'' “so that”, ''per modo di dire'' “so to speak” and ''modo di dire'' “idiom”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Zingarelli 2010) The southern adverb ''mo'' “now” is a separate word, from the adverb [[la|modo|t=just now]].^(REW 1935)^(DEI|61)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}