lì Italian · revision 37718

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=la ille}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈli/, /li/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lì''' (adverb, invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and Tuscan forms include ''lie'' (Lucca, Pisa, Livorno) and ''lici''.^(DEI|2219)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|illīc|t=there, in that place]], an old locative of the demonstrative [[m|la|ille|t=that]], strengthened with the deictic particle [[m|la|-ce]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The Latin adverb is [[m|la|illī]] with that particle added, as in [[m|la|hīc|t=here]] and [[m|la|istīc|t=there by you]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[ca|allí]], [[es|allí]] and [[pt|ali]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) DELI refers to [[là]], the companion adverb.^(DELI 1999)

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+ Standard Italian lost the double /ll/ of the Latin form, but it survives in most regional varieties.^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is before 1294 in Guittone d'Arezzo, in the sense “in that place”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Dante has it in the ''Paradiso'': “Ed ora lì, come a sito decreto, / cen porta la virtù di quella corda” (and now there, as to an appointed place, the power of that bowstring carries us).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The temporal sense “then, at that moment” is in Dante's ''Commedia'' (1300–1313).^(DELI 1999) DELI cites Gerhard Rohlfs on its Tuscan partner ''costì'' “there, near you”, which is frequent in Dante but which Petrarch never used, as too Tuscan a word.^(DELI 1999)

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+ In modern use ''lì'' marks a place nearer or more precisely fixed than ''là'', and it is used to strengthen demonstratives (''quello lì'') and in commands (''fermo lì!'').^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Phrases include ''lì per lì'' “on the spot, at first”, ''giù di lì'' “thereabouts” and ''essere lì lì per'' “to be on the point of”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''lì'' “in that place”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it for “at that moment”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|there]], in or to that place, not near the speaker; often paired with ''qui'' or ''qua'': ''Metti le chiavi lì sul mobile.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Combined with other adverbs and prepositions to fix the place: ''lì dentro'', ''lì vicino'', ''di lì'', ''fino lì''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # After ''quello'' or ''ecco'', to point at a person or thing: ''Mi passi quel quaderno lì?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # For emphasis in commands and exclamations: ''Zitti lì!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Of time, then, at that point: ''di lì a una settimana''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[là]]

+ * [[qui]]

+ * [[qua]]

+ * [[costì]]

+ * [[la|illic]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Tuscany ''lì'' doubles the first consonant of the following word.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) By the rule of the grammars ''lì'' points at a place far from both speaker and listener, as against ''costì'', but in ordinary use it also refers to a place near the listener.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) In the dates of letters (''Roma, lì 5 maggio'') the word is written ''lì'', although the form that belongs there etymologically is ''li'', an old form of the article.^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}