caso Italian · revision 37640

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1260–1261, Brunetto Latini|origins=la cadō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈka.zo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''caso''' ''m'' (plural casi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old spellings include [[roa-oit|caxo]], [[roa-oit|chaso]] and [[roa-oit|caço]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|cāsus|t=fall; event, chance; grammatical case]], from [[m|la|cadō|t=to fall]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|12, 1349) The grammatical sense was already in Latin, as a calque of [[grc|πτῶσις|tr=ptôsis|t=fall]], the “falling away” of a word from its direct form, the nominative.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(LEI|12, 1349) The same Latin word gave [[rm|cas]], [[fr|cas]] (from 1220), [[pro|cas]], [[ca|cas]], [[es|caso]] and [[pt|caso]].^(LEI|12, 1349)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Latin ⟨cāsus⟩ is an action noun from ⟨cadō⟩, which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic ⟨*kad-e/o-⟩ and, tentatively, a root [[ine-pro|*ḱh₂d-|t=to fall]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Brunetto Latini's ''Rettorica'', of about 1260–1261, in the sense “chance event, accident”.^(TLIO) DELI's first record of the sense “unforeseen event, chance circumstance” is in Cecco Angiolieri, before 1313.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the word also meant any event, a particular circumstance, a hypothesis and a question in dispute, and it formed the phrases ''a caso'' and ''per caso''.^(TLIO) DELI dates the sense “point, question” to 1354 (Iacopo Passavanti), “the mysterious cause of events, chance” to 1505 (Pietro Bembo), and a case under a doctor's care to before 1565 (Benedetto Varchi).^(DELI 1999) The grammatical sense appears in Leon Battista Alberti's grammar, about 1438.^(DELI 1999) Tasso still uses the Latin sense “fall” for the fall of the rebel angels.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The sense “sensational affair named after the person involved” dates from 1899, the year of Ettore Ciccotti's ''Il caso Dreyfus''.^(DELI 1999) Derivatives include ''casuale'' (Dante), ''casomai'' (1533, Aretino) and ''a casaccio'' (1540–1541).^(DELI 1999) ''Casista'' is probably from Spanish ''casuista''.^(DELI 1999) Maltese borrowed the word as ''każ''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses ''caso''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri uses it for a chance event.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * c. 1438 – Leon Battista Alberti uses the grammatical sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1505 – Pietro Bembo uses it for chance as the cause of events.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1533 – ''Caso mai'' appears in Pietro Aretino.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1899 – ''Il caso Dreyfus'' gives the sense “sensational affair”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|circumstance]] or situation: ''in questo caso'', ''in caso di incendio''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An event or occurrence: ''un caso curioso''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A possibility or hypothesis: ''nel caso che piova'', ''i casi sono due''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # [[m|en|chance]], a chance event or coincidence: ''per caso'' “by chance”, ''a caso'' “at random”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Chance as the cause of events, [[m|en|fate]]: ''Il caso li ha fatti incontrare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A question or problem, for example a legal or moral one: ''un caso di coscienza''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A sensational affair, often named after the person involved: ''il caso Dreyfus''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(medicine)'' A case of an illness: ''tre casi di morbillo''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A grammatical [[m|en|case]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[casuale]]

+ * [[casualità]]

+ * [[casomai]]

+ * [[casaccio]]

+ * [[casistica]]

+ * [[casista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[casualmente]]

+ * [[cadere]]

+ * [[occasione]]

+ * [[accadere]]

+ * [[la|casus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare caso a qualcosa'' means “to notice, pay attention to something”, and ''guarda caso'' “as it happens”, often ironic.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) ''Casi miei'', ''casi tuoi'' “my, your business” is a euphemistic alteration of a vulgar phrase.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI, GDLI and Sabatini–Coletti treat the grammatical sense as a separate headword, but DELI and Nocentini do not.^(DEI|793)^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999) A dialect ''caso'' “hayloft, shed” (Vicenza, Piedmont, Lombardy) comes from Latin ''capsus'' “enclosure”.^(Cortelazzo & Marcato 1998)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}