lontano Italian · revision 37849

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1250, Giacomo da Lentini|origins=la longus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /lonˈta.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lontano''' (feminine ''lontana'', masculine plural ''lontani'', feminine plural ''lontane'', superlative ''lontanissimo''); also an adverb^(Wiktionary)

+ Around 1300 some Tuscan texts have ''lungitano''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*longitānus|t=distant]], formed from the adverb [[la|longiter|t=far, for a long way]] or [[m|la|longē|t=far]], both from [[m|la|longus|t=long; far]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini analyses it as a derivative of the adjective with the suffix [[m|la|-itānus]], which in Latin made names for the people of a place.^(Nocentini 2010) Devoto says it took the place of the older [[m|la|longinquus|t=distant]].^(Devoto 1968) Italian keeps the adverb itself in [[lungi]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ The same Vulgar Latin adjective is [[fr|lointain]], [[oc|lonhdan]] and [[ca|llunyedà]], and Wiktionary adds [[scn|luntanu]], [[fur|lontan]], [[rm|lontan]] and [[dlm|luntun]].^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2268)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is before 1250, in poems by Giacomo da Lentini and Frederick II, for “separated by a long distance”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “remote in time” is in Dante, before 1321, and “absent” in Petrarch in 1374; the adverb “far away” is in Cino da Pistoia before 1337.^(DELI 1999) ''Lontananza'' is in Guido Guinizelli before 1276, and Boccaccio uses it for absence.^(DELI 1999) The figurative uses came later: “different” in Bembo (1505), “averse to” in Berni before 1535, and for a distant relative in Salviati before 1589.^(DELI 1999) In 1623 Galileo and his opponent “Lotario Sarsi” argued over how relative the word is, in ''Il Saggiatore''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Modern Italian also uses it for a vague idea or a faint hope (''un lontano sospetto'') and for someone who seems absent-minded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini and Frederick II use ''lontano''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1276 – Guinizelli uses ''lontananza''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “remote in time”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1337 – Cino da Pistoia uses the adverb.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1505 – Bembo uses it for “different”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1623 – Galileo discusses the word in ''Il Saggiatore''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|far]], [[m|en|distant]]; also at a stated distance: ''Il paese è lontano venti chilometri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Remote in time, past or future: ''un'epoca lontana''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Distant in an abstract sense: kept away from, far from (''lontano dalla realtà''), not inclined to; of relatives, not close.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Vague, faint: ''un lontano ricordo''^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Different, divergent: ''opinioni molto lontane''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # Absent; detached, absent-minded: ''Oggi ti vedo lontano.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Far, a long way off: ''Abitano lontano dal mare.''^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lontananza]]

+ * [[lontanamente]]

+ * [[allontanare]]

+ * [[allontanamento]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lungo]]

+ * [[lungi]]

+ * [[fr|lointain]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Alla lontana'' means “distantly, vaguely” (''cugini alla lontana''), ''prenderla alla lontana'' “to approach a subject indirectly” and ''andare lontano'' “to go far, to succeed”.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}