parecchio Italian · revision 38172

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=13th century, Gesta Florentinorum|origins=la pār}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /paˈrek.kjo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''parecchio''' (feminine parecchia, masculine plural parecchi, feminine plural parecchie)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''parechio'', ''paregio'' and ''parichio''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*pariculus|t=of the same kind, similar]], a diminutive of [[la|pār|t=equal]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective is recorded in the Lex Salica.^(Wiktionary) The Italian word moved from “similar, comparable” to “a fair amount”: Nocentini explains this through quantity phrases such as “in a comparable amount” or “in proportionate measure”, read as a positive judgement of the quantity, and Devoto through an intermediate sense “double”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The same Latin word gave [[fr|pareil]], [[pro|parelh]], [[es|parejo]] and [[pt|parelho]], all meaning “similar, equal”, and [[ro|pereche|t=pair]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) [[roa-oit|pareglio]] “equal, similar” was borrowed from the Occitan word, and [[pariglia]] “pair of horses” comes from the same Latin source.^(Prati 1951)^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The origin of the Latin adjective is unclear: a traditional reconstruction is [[ine-pro|*perh₂-|t=to exchange, sell]], which accounts badly for the vowel, and de Vaan suggests [[ine-pro|*peh₂s-|t=to watch over]], linking [[m|la|pāreō]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The Umbrian form [[m|xum|pars|t=prescribed]] may be related.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the 13th-century ''Gesta Florentinorum'', meaning more than enough in quantity or number: “he stayed in Rome several days” (''In Roma stette parecchie dì'').^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante still used the word in the old sense “equal, similar” (''Salendo su per lo modo parecchio / a quel che scende'', “rising in a manner equal to that which descends”), and in the ''Inferno'' in the modern sense: ''Di parecchi anni mi mentì lo scritto'' “the writing lied to me by several years”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Boccaccio used it as a noun meaning “an equal” (''che non avrà giammai un tuo parecchio'', “who will never have one like you”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Gabrielli 2020) Tommaseo–Bellini mark the old sense “equal” as obsolete and record the adverbial use, with time, space or the like understood, as familiar.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – ''Parecchio'' appears in the ''Gesta Florentinorum''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it both for “equal” and for “several”.^(GDLI)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Quite a lot of, a good deal of, in considerable quantity, though less than ''molto'': ''C'era parecchio traffico in città.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(in the plural)'' [[m|en|several]], quite a few: ''L'ho aspettato per parecchie ore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Strong or intense, or long in time or space: ''Ha fatto parecchia fatica a convincerlo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Equal, similar.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # A good deal, quite a lot, referring to something already mentioned: ''Di libri ne ha parecchi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(in the plural)'' Quite a few people: ''Alla festa sono venuti in parecchi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(neuter)'' A long time, a large sum and the like, understood from the context: ''Il nuovo divano è costato parecchio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Rather, considerably, quite a lot: ''Questa casa è parecchio più grande della nostra.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pari]]

+ * [[pariglia]]

+ * [[la|pār]]

+ * [[fr|pareil]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The nautical ''remo di parecchio'' (1935), each of a pair of oars worked together, is a separate noun: Devoto–Oli derive it from the same source, Sabatini–Coletti call its origin uncertain, and the GDLI suggests a variant of ''pareggio''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) Treccani records the diminutives ''parecchino'' and ''parecchiuccio''.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}