qualunque Italian · revision 37982

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=second half of the 12th century (qualunqua)|origins=la quālis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kwaˈlun.kwe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''qualunque''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''qualunqua'' (12th–13th century), Pisan and Old Lombard ''qualumca'', Old Perugian ''qualunqua'' with the plural ''qualunqui'', Old Pistoian ''qualunco'' and Old Palermitan ''qualunquatu'' (1343).^(DEI|3170)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) ''Qualunche'' is an old variant.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed in [[af|it|quale|-unque]], on the model of [[la|quāliscumque|t=of whatever kind]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini describes it as a Romance formation in which the Latin suffix [[m|la|-cumque|t=-ever]] of the model was blended with [[m|la|umquam|t=ever]].^(Nocentini 2010) DEI likewise speaks of the second element of the Latin pronoun being replaced by the adverb, and compares [[quantunque]].^(DEI|3170) [[fr|quelconque]] is a similar formation.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Latin [[m|la|quāliscumque]] is itself formed from [[m|la|quālis|t=of what kind]] and the indefinite ending, from [[m|la|cumque|t=whenever, however]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and the Devoto–Oli date the old form ''qualunqua'' to the second half of the 12th century (GRADIT: 1171).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI's first record of the adjective is the ''Breve di Montieri'' (1219), a Tuscan statute, in the sense “one or another, without distinction”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''qualunque'' could also stand alone as a pronoun meaning “whoever”, as in Dante's “batte col remo qualunque s'adagia” (he strikes with his oar whoever lingers); this use is now archaic.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Phrases such as ''qualunque volta'' and ''qualunque otta'' “every time that” are also obsolete.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The word could once be plural, as in Boccaccio's “O qualunque cavalieri”, but the modern language treats it as invariable and uses it in the singular.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ Placed after a noun it took on a slighting sense, “ordinary, of no account”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The phrase ''l'uomo qualunque'' “the man in the street” became the title of Guglielmo Giannini's newspaper ''L'Uomo Qualunque'', which gave its name to a political movement founded in 1944;^(Nocentini 2010) ''qualunquismo'' and ''qualunquista'' (1945), come from it.^(Nocentini 2010) A recent southern and slang use, ''la qualunque'' “anything at all”, leaves out the noun.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1171 – GRADIT's date for the old form ''qualunqua''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1219 – ''Qualunque'' appears in the ''Breve di Montieri''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1343 – Old Palermitan ''qualunquatu'' is recorded.^(DEI|3170)

+ * 1945 – ''Qualunquismo'' and ''qualunquista'' are recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|any]], whichever, one or another without distinction (singular, before the noun): ''Passa pure a qualunque ora.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Every, any whatever (emphatic): ''Sarebbe pronta a qualunque sacrificio per i figli.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # After the noun, ordinary, [[m|en|commonplace]], of no special quality: ''Non è un cuoco qualunque.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Relative, introducing a clause with the subjunctive: [[m|en|whatever]], whichever: ''Qualunque cosa tu decida, ti aiuterò.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Whoever.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[qualunquismo]]

+ * [[qualunquista]]

+ * [[qualunquistico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[quale]]

+ * [[qualsiasi]]

+ * [[chiunque]]

+ * [[quantunque]]

+ * [[comunque]]

+ * [[dovunque]]

+ * [[la|quāliscumque]]

+ * [[fr|quelconque]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Qualunque'' and ''qualsiasi'' are synonyms.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Fixed phrases include ''a qualunque costo'' “at any cost” and ''l'uomo qualunque'' “the average man”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) In popular and older use the relative clause may have the indicative instead of the subjunctive.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}