primo Italian · revision 37649

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1205, Veronese document|origins=la prīmus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpri.mo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''primo''' (feminine prima, masculine plural primi, feminine plural prime, superlative primissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|prīmus|t=first]], the superlative of the old adverb [[m|la|prī|t=before]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word comes from an older ⟨*prīsmos⟩, attested in Paelignian ⟨prismu⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012) Nocentini compares the adverb with [[grc|πρίν|tr=prín|t=before]] and Lithuanian ⟨priẽ⟩ “near”, and Wiktionary connects it with [[ine-pro|*per-|t=before, in front]] and with the comparative [[m|la|prior|t=earlier]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The word is pan-Romance, but in Gallo- and Ibero-Romance it took special senses: [[oc|prim]] “excellent”, [[ca|prim]] “thin, fine”, [[es|primo]] “cousin”, while [[fr|prime]] survives only in phrases; there [[m|la|prīmārius]] took its place, giving [[fr|premier]], [[ca|primer]], [[es|primero]], [[pt|primeiro]] and Old Italian [[m|roa-oit|primaio]].^(Nocentini 2010) [[ro|prim]] keeps the plain sense.^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ Many learned derivatives came from Latin, such as [[primario]], [[primate]], [[primitivo]], [[primizia]] and [[primogenito]].^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's earliest record is a Veronese document of about 1205, where ''primo'' is the ordinal “first in a series”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses the word for “chief, fundamental” before 1321.^(DELI 1999) The feminine ''prima'' used as an adverb, “before, earlier”, is in the ''Breve di Montieri'' of 1219.^(DELI 1999) In measurement, ''minuto primo'' “minute of time” is in Galileo (1630–1631), and the noun ''primo'' alone for a minute is recorded in 1958; the sixtieth of a degree was so called before 1572.^(DELI 1999)

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+ French models gave ''prima'' “first night of a play” (1814), a calque of ''première'', and ''di prim'ordine'' “first-rate”, after ''de premier ordre''.^(DELI 1999) ''Primato'' was proposed in 1929 by F. Corsi to replace the English ''record'', and its use by the Air Ministry settled it.^(DELI 1999) In the kitchen ''primo'' is short for ''primo piatto'' “first course”.^(Wiktionary)

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+ Music carried the word abroad: ''primo tenore'' is recorded in 1584, and English took ''primo'' in names such as ''primo uomo'' and ''primo buffo'' from 1740, German from 1838.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1205 – A Veronese document uses ''primo'' as an ordinal.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1219 – The ''Breve di Montieri'' uses ''prima'' as an adverb.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''primo'' for “chief, fundamental”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1584 – ''Primo tenore'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1630–1631 – Galileo uses ''minuto primo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1740 – English takes ''primo'' in musical terms.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1814 – ''Prima'' “first night” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1929 – ''Primato'' is proposed in place of ''record''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|first]], coming before all others in a series, in time or in space: ''È la prima volta che vengo qui.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # After the name of a ruler or pope, written I, the first of that name: ''Ferdinando I''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Initial, early, belonging to the beginning of something: ''nei primi anni del Novecento''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Chief, [[m|en|principal]], first in importance or rank: ''il primo attore'', ''materia prima'', raw material.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' [[m|en|prime]], of a number divisible only by itself and one.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The first one; of two things already named, the former.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(cooking)'' The first course of a meal, usually pasta, rice or soup.^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|minute]], the sixtieth part of an hour or of a degree.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3081)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prima]]

+ * [[dapprima]]

+ * [[primeggiare]]

+ * [[primattore]]

+ * [[primaticcio]]

+ * [[primissimo]]

+ * [[primino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[primario]]

+ * [[primate]]

+ * [[primato]]

+ * [[primavera]]

+ * [[primitivo]]

+ * [[primizia]]

+ * [[primogenito]]

+ * [[primordiale]]

+ * [[primordio]]

+ * [[primula]]

+ * [[la|primus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After ''per'' it often means “first, before the others”: ''è arrivato per primo''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI records a nautical ''primo'' for the keel of a boat (1604), with southern dialect forms, perhaps influenced by Byzantine Greek ''prýmna'' “stern”.^(DEI|3081) ''Primo'' is also a man's name, once given to a first-born son.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}