intorno Italian · revision 38110

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1231–1250, Cielo d'Alcamo|origins=la in, la tornō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /inˈtor.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''intorno''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian forms include ''entorno'', ''inturno'', ''’ntorno'' and, with an enclitic pronoun, ''intornogli'' “around him”.^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010) Old Neapolitan had ''intuorno''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|it|in|torno|t2=turn, circuit]], first written separately.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) [[torno|alt=Torno]] is a noun from [[tornare]], [[inh|la|tornō|t=to turn on a lathe]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) The same formation is [[fro|entor]], recorded from the 12th century and later replaced by [[fr|autour]], and [[pro|entorn]].^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2071)^(REW 1935) [[attorno|alt=Attorno]] is a parallel compound.^(DEI|2071)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Contrasto'' of Cielo d'Alcamo, a Sicilian poem of 1231–1250 that survives in a Tuscan copy.^(TLIO) DELI's first date is Dante, 1300–1313, for “round about, in the surrounding places”, and in Dante's ''Inferno'' a castle is “difeso intorno d'un bel fiumicello” (defended round about by a fair stream).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a preposition, alone or in ''intorno a'', the word came to mark the subject of a discussion or a book (“about, on”), and an approximate number or date (“around”).^(TLIO)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) Dante also used it as an adjective, “surrounding”, in 1313–1319.^(DELI 1999) Old Italian could attach an enclitic pronoun, as in ''intornogli'' “around him”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ The noun ''intorno'', “the surrounding area”, appears in the 16th century in Castiglione and Giambullari, and Cellini used it for a raised border around a wax model.^(GDLI|8, 323) In mathematics an ''intorno'' is the neighbourhood of a point in a topological space.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1231–1250 – First record, in Cielo d'Alcamo's ''Contrasto''.^(TLIO)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the adverb.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante uses it as an adjective, “surrounding”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – Old Neapolitan ''intuorno''.^(DEI|2071)

+ * Early 16th century – The noun ''intorno'' “surrounding area”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI|8, 323)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|around]], round about, in the surrounding space: ''Mi guardai intorno ma non c'era nessuno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # After ''qui'', ''qua'', ''lì'' or ''là'': in the area nearby: ''C'è un distributore qui intorno?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With ''tutto'' or repeated, all around: ''tutt'intorno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # ''intorno a'': around, encircling: ''Abbiamo fatto il giro intorno al lago.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''intorno a'': about, on (a subject): ''un saggio intorno alla poesia di Leopardi''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''intorno a'': around, approximately (with numbers, dates and times): ''Arriveremo intorno alle nove.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable, after the noun)'' Surrounding, nearby: ''le colline intorno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A [[m|en|neighbourhood]] of a point.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chiefly plural, uncommon)'' The surrounding area.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dintorno]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[torno]]

+ * [[tornare]]

+ * [[attorno]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''guardarsi intorno'' (to look around), ''girare intorno'' (to beat about the bush; to court someone) and ''levarsi d'intorno'' (to get out of the way).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Intorno'' and ''attorno'' are synonyms.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}