morto Italian · revision 37624

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Monte Andrea|origins=ine-pro *mer-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɔr.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''morto''' (feminine morta, masculine plural morti, feminine plural morte)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*mortus]], for classical [[la|mortuus|t=dead]], the participle of [[m|la|morior|t=to die]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968|289) The word is found in every Romance language: [[fr|mort]], [[oc|mort]], [[ca|mort]], [[es|muerto]], [[pt|morto]], [[sc|mortu]] and [[ro|mort]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|2514)

+

+ The Latin participle goes back to [[itc-pro|*mortwos]] and [[ine-pro|*mr̥twós]], from the root [[m|ine-pro|*mer-|t=to die]].^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan thinks the older adjective ⟨*mr̥to-⟩, kept in Slavic, took its ending from a second adjective ⟨*mr̥u̯o-⟩ “dead”, preserved in [[sga|marb]].^(de Vaan 2008) Devoto had already seen a blend of the words for “dead” and “alive”.^(Devoto 1968|289) Related words are [[grc|βροτός|tr=brotós|t=mortal man]] and [[ru|мёртвый|tr=mjórtvyj|t=dead]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record, as a participle and adjective meaning “having ceased to live”, is in Monte Andrea, in the 13th century.^(DELI 1999) GDLI quotes him: ''L'omo nudo chi 'l fere di coltello, / di piciol colpo può divenir morto'' (“a naked man, if one strikes him with a knife, can die of a small blow”).^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative senses came early: “inert” in Guittone d'Arezzo and the noun ''morto'' “dead person” in Brunetto Latini, both before 1294, “lifeless” in Giordano da Pisa (before 1311) and “useless” in Paolo da Certaldo in the 14th century.^(DELI 1999) Leopardi's ''le morte stagioni'' (1819) uses it for time gone by.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) Until the 16th century the participle could also be active, “killed”, a use still found in Tuscan.^(DEI|2514)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Many fixed phrases use the adjective: ''lingua morta'' “dead language”, ''binario morto'' “siding”, ''punto morto'' “deadlock”, ''peso morto'' “dead weight”, and hyperbolic ''stanco morto'' “dead tired”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) In bridge the ''morto'' is the dummy (1935).^(DELI 1999) ''Vivo o morto'' is a calque of English “dead or alive”.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Monte Andrea uses ''morto'' “dead”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the noun, and Guittone d'Arezzo the sense “inert”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for “lifeless”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1819 – Leopardi writes ''le morte stagioni'' “the dead seasons”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1935 – The bridge sense “dummy” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|dead]], no longer living: ''Hanno trovato un passero morto sul balcone.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Of a limb, [[m|en|numb]], without feeling.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(hyperbolic)'' Exhausted or overwhelmed: ''stanco morto'', ''morto di fame''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Lifeless, inactive, no longer in use: ''una città morta d'inverno'', ''una lingua morta''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(literary)'' Of time, past and gone.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A dead person; a [[m|en|corpse]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ # ''(card games)'' The [[m|en|dummy]] in bridge, or a fictitious fourth player.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[morta]]

+ * [[morticino]]

+ * [[mortorio]]

+ * [[smorto]]

+ * [[tramortire]]

+ * [[mortizza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[morte]]

+ * [[morire]]

+ * [[mortuario]]

+ * [[la|mortuus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Morto'' is the past participle of ''morire'', which takes ''essere'': ''è morto'' “he has died”.^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Fare il morto'' is to float on one's back.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}