sette Italian · revision 38145

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 13th century, Novellino|origins=ine-pro *septḿ̥}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈsɛt.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sette''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ Old forms include ''sete'' and ''set'', and Old Tuscan had a plural ''setti''.^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|septem|t=seven]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The cluster ⟨pt⟩ became ⟨tt⟩ and the final ⟨m⟩ was lost.^(DELI 1999) The numeral is found throughout Romance: [[fr|sept]], [[oc|set]], [[ca|set]], [[es|siete]], [[pt|sete]], Sardinian [[m|sc|sette]], [[ro|șapte]] and Vegliote [[m|dlm|sapto]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Like the other basic numerals, “septem” is inherited from Proto-Indo-European [[m|ine-pro|*septḿ̥]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Its relatives include [[grc|ἑπτά|tr=heptá]], [[sa|सप्त|tr=saptá]], [[lt|septynì]], [[cu|седмь|tr=sedmĭ]], [[sga|secht]], [[got|𐍃𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌽|tr=sibun]] and [[en|seven]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the ''Novellino'', a Florentine collection of tales of the late 13th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The Lombard poet Patecchio has the form ''set'' in his verses on the seven days of mourning.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Seven was a sacred number in Christian and earlier symbolism, and many fixed groups are named by it: the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, the seven hills of Rome, the seven wonders of the world.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Phrases such as ''chiudere a sette chiavi'' “to lock away securely” and ''sudare sette camicie'' “to toil hard” use it for a large amount.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ As a noun ''sette'' is a school mark meaning “good”, and familiarly an L-shaped tear in cloth, shaped like the figure 7; that sense came from Lombardy and the Veneto and is in Zingarelli in 1922, while a ''sette'' was already a scar on the face in Bartolomeo Corsini, before 1673.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011) ''Settebello'', the seven of coins that scores a point in the card game scopa, is recorded in 1885, and was the nickname of a seven-car luxury electric train of 1952.^(DELI 1999) In Polari, the slang of 19th-century England, ''setter'' meant “seven” and “seven pence”.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' uses ''sette''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''settimo'' “seventh”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1673 – Bartolomeo Corsini uses ''sette'' for a scar on the face.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1751 – ''Settecento'' is used for the 18th century.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Mid-19th century – Polari ''setter'' “seven” is recorded in England.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1885 – ''Sette bello'' is recorded in the card game.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1922 – Zingarelli records ''sette'' for a tear in cloth.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|seven]]: ''Il mio fratellino ha sette anni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # After a noun, seventh: ''binario sette''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The number seven and the figure 7.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The seventh day of the month; seven o'clock, in the feminine plural ''le sette''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A school mark of seven out of ten, a good result: ''Ho preso sette nel compito di storia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A playing card worth seven.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' An L-shaped [[m|en|tear]] in cloth.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wikizionario)

+ # ''(sports)'' A water polo team, of seven players.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[settimo]]

+ * [[settecento]]

+ * [[settemila]]

+ * [[settebello]]

+ * [[settimino]]

+ * [[settuplo]]

+ * [[settenario]]

+ * [[settennio]]

+ * [[settenne]]

+ * [[settecentesco]]

+ * [[settecentista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[settimana]]

+ * [[settembre]]

+ * [[la|septem]]

+ * [[en|seven]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Sette'' is also the plural of [[setta]] “sect”.^(Wikizionario) In football slang the ''sette'' is the top corner of the goal, where the crossbar meets the post.^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}