paese Italian · revision 37926

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1250, Giacomo da Lentini|origins=ine-pro *peh₂ǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /paˈe.ze/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''paese''' ''m'' (plural paesi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms include [[roa-oit|paise]], [[roa-oit|paisi]], [[roa-oit|paiese]] and [[roa-oit|paèxe]].^(GDLI|12, 350)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*pagēnsis]], from the Late Latin adjective [[m|la-lat|pāgēnsis|t=of a country district; inhabitant of a district]], formed from [[la|pāgus|t=village; country district]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The adjective was used as a noun for “the land belonging to a village”, and Gregory of Tours already has it for a village.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2719) In the Latin of Lombard Italy in the 8th and 9th centuries it still named the inhabitant of a district or parish.^(DEI|2719) Devoto notes the complete loss of the /ɡ/ before the front vowel.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The same word is [[fro|pais]] (10th century), modern [[fr|pays]], [[pro|paes]], [[fur|paîs]], [[vec|pajès]], [[pms|pais]] and [[scn|pajisi]].^(GDLI|12, 350)^(Körting 1907)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini takes [[ca|país]], [[es|país]] and [[pt|país]] from the French word;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2719) DEI goes further and thinks that the Tuscan word itself probably came from Occitan, while the French form reached the northern Italian dialects and the Iberian Peninsula.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2719)

+

+ The Latin noun first meant a boundary stone fixed in the ground: it belongs with [[m|la|pangō|t=to fix, drive in]] and goes back to [[itc-pro|*pāgos]] and [[ine-pro|*peh₂ǵ-|t=to fasten, fix]].^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Medieval Latin ''paysius'' is recorded at Reggio Emilia in 1242.^(DELI 1999) The first Italian record is in Giacomo da Lentini (before 1250), with the sense “a large stretch of inhabited and cultivated land”: “Troppo son dimorato / in lontano paisi” (I have stayed too long in a distant land).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|12, 350)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “nation, state, homeland” follows at the end of the 13th century in the ''Novellino'', and “village, small town, with its land” in Berni (before 1535).^(DELI 1999) DEI and Prati cite Dante for “region”.^(DEI|2719)^(Prati 1951|723) Painters used ''paese'' for a landscape, and ''paesaggio'' comes from [[fr|paysage]], a painting term from 1493;^(DELI 1999) Titian uses it in 1552.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ''Mandare a quel paese'' “to send someone packing” is a euphemism: Florentines said ''mandare a farsi buggerare'', softened it to ''mandare a Borgo a Buggiano'', a place in the Val di Nievole, then to ''a Borgo'', and finally to “that place”.^(DELI 1999) ''Paesi sottosviluppati'' is a calque of the English ''under-developed countries''.^(DELI 1999) Proverbs include ''paese che vai, usanza che trovi'' “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” and ''tutto il mondo è paese'' “people are the same everywhere”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 6th century – Gregory of Tours uses Late Latin ''pagense'' for a village.^(DEI|2719)

+ * 1242 – Medieval Latin ''paysius'' is recorded at Reggio Emilia.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini writes ''paisi'' for “land, country”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|12, 350)

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses the word for “nation, homeland”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – ''Paesano'' “inhabitant” appears in Brunetto Latini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – Berni uses ''paese'' for a village.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1552 – Titian uses ''paesaggio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1928 – ''Strapaese'' names a literary movement attached to rural Italian life.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|country]], nation or state, often written with a capital: ''i Paesi dell'Unione europea''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # One's own country, [[m|en|homeland]]: ''Dopo la guerra rientrò nel suo paese.''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|village]] or small town: ''un paese di collina'', ''lo scemo del paese'', the village idiot.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The people of a village or country as a whole.^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A region or stretch of land with common features: ''paesi caldi'', hot lands.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(uncommon)'' A painted [[m|en|landscape]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[paesano]]

+ * [[paesaggio]]

+ * [[paesaggista]]

+ * [[paesaggistico]]

+ * [[paesista]]

+ * [[paesistico]]

+ * [[compaesano]]

+ * [[spaesato]]

+ * [[strapaese]]

+ * [[paesello]]

+ * [[paesino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[paesaggistica]]

+ * [[pagano]]

+ * [[la|pagus]]

+ * [[fr|pays]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The ⟨s⟩ is voiced, /z/.^(Wiktionary)^(Prati 1951|723) ''Mandare qualcuno a quel paese'' means “to tell someone to go to hell”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''Il Bel Paese'' is Italy, ''il paese della cuccagna'' an imaginary land of plenty, and ''Paesi Bassi'' the Netherlands.^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}