adesso Italian · revision 37605

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=inherited|attested=before 1249, Pier della Vigna|origins=la ad, la ipse}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aˈdɛs.so/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''adesso''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include [[m|roa-oit|addesso]], [[m|roa-oit|adessa]], [[m|roa-oit|ades]] and [[m|roa-oit|adess]].^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The usual explanation, which DELI calls doubtful but which the LEI accepts as the most likely of many proposals, is [[inh|la-vul|*addessum]], a contraction of the phrase [[la|ad|t=at]] [[m|la|ipse|alt=ipsum]] [[m|la|tempus|t=time]], “at the same time”, with the noun left out.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Prati 1951|23) Devoto explains the open /ɛ/ of the Italian word by the influence of ⟨ad pressum⟩ “near”, the source of [[appresso]], and the TLIO also mentions it.^(Devoto 1968|20)^(TLIO) The old Tuscan ⟨adessa⟩ is explained in the same way from ⟨ad ipsam (hōram)⟩ “at the same hour”.^(DEI|61)^(GDLI)^(TLIO)

+

+ Nocentini rejects this source because the stressed /ɛ/ that all the Romance forms require cannot come from the short /i/ of the Latin pronoun, an objection already made by Rohlfs and Coromines.^(Nocentini 2010) He derives the adverb instead from the glossary form ⟨adersum⟩ “attached”, the past participle of [[m|la|adhaereō|t=to cling to]], said of time, so “immediate”.^(Nocentini 2010) He points to Quintilian's ⟨tempus adhaerens⟩ “the present time”, to a Reichenau gloss of the 8th–9th century, and to the Old Venetian preposition ⟨arente⟩ “near”, from the same Latin verb.^(Nocentini 2010) Meyer-Lübke proposed a blend of [[m|la|densus|t=dense]] with ⟨ad pressum⟩, an idea DEI thinks unlikely.^(REW 1935)^(DEI|61)

+

+ The word is shared with [[fro|ades]], [[pro|ades]] and [[osp|adieso]] “at once”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|61) The GDLI does not rule out a borrowing of the Old French adverb, and Sabatini–Coletti derive it from Old Occitan.^(GDLI)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI notes that southern Italy uses ⟨mo⟩, from Latin [[m|la|modo|t=just now]], which could suggest an early loan from French.^(DEI|61)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest dated record is in Pier della Vigna, before 1249, with the sense “always”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The TLIO's first text is Patecchio's ''Splanamento'', written in the 13th century in the dialect of Cremona.^(TLIO) Guido Guinizelli, who died before 1276, uses it as a conjunction meaning “as soon as”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the word for “now” and “immediately”, for “then, after that”, for “always, every time”, and in negative sentences for “never”.^(TLIO) The sense “now” is in Dante, as in ''Purgatorio'' 18: “Fervore aguto adesso / ricompie forse negligenza e indugio” (keen fervour now perhaps makes up for negligence and delay).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) Francesco da Barberino uses it for “soon” in 1314, and Machiavelli for “a moment ago” before 1527.^(DELI 1999) Ariosto has the doubled ''adesso adesso'' “at any moment”.^(Prati 1951|23)

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+ In the 17th century Daniello Bartoli defended the adverb against writers who rejected it, noting that it had the authority of the old authors and the use of the best modern ones.^(GDLI) Today it is the everyday word for “now”, beside ''ora''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses ''adesso'' for “always”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – Patecchio's ''Splanamento'' (Cremona) has the word.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1276 – Guido Guinizelli uses it for “as soon as”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1314 – Francesco da Barberino uses it for “soon”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “now, at this moment”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for “a moment ago”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|now]], at this moment: ''Adesso non posso, sto guidando.'' Also in ''e adesso?'', asking what is to be done next.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A moment ago, [[m|en|just now]]: ''È uscita adesso dall’ufficio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|soon]], in a moment: ''Aspetta, adesso arriva.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # As an interjection, “coming!”, in reply to a call.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # In ''adesso che'', now that: ''Adesso che piove, restiamo in casa.''^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[esso]]

+ * [[desso]]

+ * [[appresso]]

+ * [[fro|ades]]

+ * [[la|ipse]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''per adesso'' “for now”, ''da adesso in poi'' “from now on” and ''fin d’adesso'' “from this moment”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) In the south the same sense is expressed by ''mo'', which continues [[la|modo]].^(DEI|61)^(REW 1935)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}