attimo Italian · revision 37804

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1306, Giordano da Pisa|origins=grc ἄτομος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈat.ti.mo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''attimo''' ''m'' (plural attimi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old texts also have [[roa-oit|attamo]], the form used by Giordano da Pisa, and [[m|roa-oit|antomo]].^(DELI 1999)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|atomus|t=atom; moment]], in its popular development, from [[grc|ἄτομος|tr=átomos|t=indivisible]], and so a doublet of the learned [[atomo]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(REW 1935) The sense “moment” already existed in Greek and in Late Latin: [[la-lat|in atomo|t=in an instant]], used by Tertullian, renders [[grc|ἐν ἀτόμῳ|tr=en atómōi]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|355) The doubled /tt/ and the weakened unstressed vowel are typical of words that passed through popular speech.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ DEI thinks the word reached Italian from the Latin of the medieval schools, and notes the same sense in [[pt|átimo]], at Salamanca ([[es|átamo]]) and in [[scn|àtimu]].^(DEI|355)^(REW 1935) In 13th-century Piacenza [[la-med|atamos]] was used for a smallest unit of length;^(DELI 1999) Alessio took it for a Byzantine Greek word spread from the Exarchate of Ravenna.^(DELI 1999) Devoto suggested that the Latin word was influenced by [[la|optimus]].^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Giordano da Pisa's Lenten sermons of 1306, in the form ''attamo''.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) The TLIO lists three Old Italian senses: the smallest quantity of something, an indivisible unit of length, and a very short span of time.^(TLIO) The form ''attimo'' is first found in Zanobi da Strada before 1364.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old texts often joined it with ''ora'' or ''tempo'': ''un attimo d'ora'', ''nessun attimo di tempo''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Leonardo still used ''attimo'' for a tiny particle before 1519, and Florio's dictionary of 1598 has ''atimo''.^(LEI|3, 2017)

+

+ Today the word means only a very short moment, and colloquially, with the indefinite article, “a little”: ''spostati un attimo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Common phrases are ''in un attimo'' (“in a flash”), ''di attimo in attimo'' (“at any moment”) and ''cogliere l'attimo fuggente'', to enjoy the fleeting moments of happiness.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) ''Un attimo!'' asks someone to wait.^(GRADIT 2003) The diminutive ''attimino'' has long been mocked by purists.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1306 – Giordano da Pisa writes ''attamo''.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1364 – Zanobi da Strada uses ''attimo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1370 – A Florentine text uses ''attimo'' for a tiny particle.^(LEI|3, 2017)

+ * 1598 – Florio's dictionary records ''atimo''.^(LEI|3, 2017)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very short space of time; a [[m|en|moment]], an [[m|en|instant]]: ''Torno tra un attimo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial, with'' un'')'' A little, slightly: ''Aspetta un attimo fuori.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A tiny particle, an [[m|en|atom]].^(Gabrielli 2020)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[attimino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[atomo]]

+ * [[la|atomus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Un attimo!'' is used to interrupt someone or to ask for a short wait.^(GRADIT 2003) ''Cogliere l'attimo fuggente'' means to seize the fleeting moment of joy.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}