notte Italian · revision 37704

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=second half of the 13th century|origins=ine-pro *nókʷts}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈnɔt.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''notte''' ''f'' (plural notti, pejorative nottàccia)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|nocte]] and [[roa-oit|notti]], and the dialects have ''note''.^(GDLI|11, 588)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|nox|t=night]], from the accusative ⟨noctem⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The word survives in every Romance language: [[fr|nuit]], [[oc|nuech]], [[ca|nit]], [[es|noche]], [[pt|noite]], [[sc|notte]], [[fur|ñot]] and [[ro|noapte]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) The cluster /kt/ of the Latin word was assimilated to /tt/, as in other Tuscan words.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The Latin noun comes from [[itc-pro|*nok⁽ʷ⁾ts]], [[ine-pro|*nókʷts]].^(Wiktionary) It belongs to the oldest shared vocabulary of the Indo-European languages, with [[grc|νύξ|tr=núx]], [[sa|नक्त्|tr=nákt]], [[lt|naktìs]], [[hit|nekuz|t=in the evening]] and [[goh|naht]] (modern [[de|Nacht]], English [[m|en|night]]).^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan notes that verbal forms of the root survive only in Hittite, as [[m|hit|neku-zi|t=to become night]], so the word for night must be an old root noun.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the word to the second half of the 13th century.^(GRADIT 2003) DELI's first record is in the ''Novellino'', at the end of the 13th century, for the time from sunset to sunrise.^(DELI 1999) GDLI quotes an older northern form in Pietro da Bascapè (1274): “Partì la lux da tenebria, / partì la nocte dala dia” (he parted the light from the darkness, he parted the night from the day).^(GDLI|11, 588)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense “darkness”, also of the mind, is recorded in the 14th century in an Italian version of Saint Gregory.^(DELI 1999) Many derivatives are old: ''nottetempo'' “by night”, from the Latin phrase ''noctis tempore'', is in Bono Giamboni before 1292, and ''stanotte'' “tonight”, from ''(que)sta notte'', is of the second half of the 13th century.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) ''Notturno'', a learned word from Latin ''nocturnus'', is recorded about 1350, and as the name of a languid piece for piano in 1826.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ''Nottola'' was a name of the bat (before 1400) and of the owl (before 1336), and a wooden latch shaped like a bird's beak was called by the same name from 1350–1366, following a habit, already Latin, of naming latches after animals.^(DELI 1999) The phrase ''buona notte al secchio'' “that's the end of it” is Roman: Bruno Migliorini traced it to a sestina of Giggi Zanazzo of 1882.^(DELI 1999) ''Notte brava'', a night of escapades or of hooliganism, appears in the press in 1971, and ''notturna'' for a football match played under floodlights in 1970.^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Through the Italian word, the Parlyaree slang of English showmen and performers had ''nochy'' “night”.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Second half of the 13th century – ''notte'' is first recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1274 – Pietro da Bascapè writes the form ''nocte''.^(GDLI|11, 588)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''nottetempo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * End of the 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''notte'' for the time between sunset and sunrise.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The figurative sense “darkness” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1350 – The adjective ''notturno'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1826 – ''Notturno'' names a piece for piano.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1882 – Giggi Zanazzo's verses give rise to ''buona notte al secchio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1970 – ''Notturna'' is recorded for a match played at night.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|night]], the part of the day between sunset and dawn, when the sun is below the horizon: ''Ha piovuto per tutta la notte.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' Night personified.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The [[m|en|darkness]] of night; darkness in general.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A period or condition of ignorance, fear or [[m|en|obscurantism]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[m|en|blindness]] of the body or of the spirit; a clouding of the mind.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Short for [[buonanotte]], good night.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nottata]]

+ * [[nottetempo]]

+ * [[nottola]]

+ * [[nottolino]]

+ * [[nottolone]]

+ * [[notturna]]

+ * [[notturno]]

+ * [[nottambulo]]

+ * [[annottare]]

+ * [[pernottare]]

+ * [[pernottamento]]

+ * [[pernotto]]

+ * [[stanotte]]

+ * [[mezzanotte]]

+ * [[buonanotte]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|nox]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After the name of a day, ''notte'' is used without a preposition for the night that follows it: ''lunedì notte''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) Common phrases include ''buona notte'' (or ''buonanotte''), the greeting before going to bed, also used to say that something is over and done with, ''giorno e notte'' “continuously”, ''passare la notte in bianco'' “to have a sleepless night”, and ''peggio che andar di notte'' “from bad to worse”.^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}