calmo Italian · revision 38235

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=first half of the 14th century, Cecco Nuccoli|origins=grc καῦμα}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkal.mo/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''calmo''' (feminine calma, masculine plural calmi, feminine plural calme, superlative calmissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortened past participle of [[calmare|t=to calm]], used as an adjective.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The verb is formed from the noun [[calma|t=calm]], which according to DELI and Nocentini comes [[der|la-lat|cauma|t=heat]], from [[grc|καῦμα|tr=kaûma|t=burning heat]], a noun of [[m|grc|καίω|tr=kaíō|t=to burn]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The sense moved from heat to stillness among sailors, for whom the midday heat meant no wind and a motionless sea, and the ⟨l⟩ for ⟨u⟩ is a hypercorrect reversal of the common change of /l/ to /u/ before a consonant.^(Nocentini 2010) Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain and suggests the influence of [[la|calor|t=heat]].^(Wiktionary)

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+ [[fr|calme]] and [[es|calma]] come from Italian, and so does the word in Catalan and in Portuguese.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Perugian poet Cecco Nuccoli, of the first half of the 14th century, where ''calmo'' means “free from torment”.^(TLIO) DELI's earliest date is Luigi Tansillo, who died in 1568, for a sea not stirred by the wind: “always treading a calm and quiet sea”.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “quiet, serene” of days and weather is in Antonio Cocchi, before 1758.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Nineteenth-century purists disliked the short participle: DELI notes their objections, and the language critics quoted by the GDLI accepted ''calmo'' only of the sea and found it very odd of a person's state of mind.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The word nevertheless spread to people and periods of time, as in Nievo's “infinitely calm ocean of eternity”.^(GDLI)

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+ In modern Italian ''calmo'' describes a sea or air without wind, a period without trouble or activity, and a person who is not upset or who is placid by nature.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) On the stock exchange a ''mercato calmo'' is a market with few dealings and falling prices, and in astronomy a ''sole calmo'' is a quiet sun.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) D'Annunzio used it of subdued colours.^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 14th century – Cecco Nuccoli uses ''calmo'' “free from torment”.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1568 – Luigi Tansillo uses it of a calm sea.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1758 – Antonio Cocchi uses it for “quiet, serene”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 19th century – Purists object to the shortened participle.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of the sea, the air or the weather: [[m|en|calm]], still, without wind or waves: ''Stamattina il lago era calmo come uno specchio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a period of time: quiet, without trouble, activity or news: ''Ad agosto in ufficio è una settimana calma.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of a person: not agitated, upset or angry, also as an exhortation (''calmo!'', “calm down!”): ''Prima del colloquio era stranamente calmo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # [[m|en|placid]], even-tempered by nature: ''un ragazzo calmo e riflessivo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(finance)'' Of a market: with few dealings and prices tending to fall.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[calmamente]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[calma]]

+ * [[calmare]]

+ * [[calmante]]

+ * [[fr|calme]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Prendersela calma'' means to take one's time.^(GRADIT 2003) An obsolete Venetian ''calmo'' “graft, scion” (Bembo, before 1547) is a separate word: it continues [[la|calamus|t=reed, stalk]], and the verb ''incalmare'' “to graft” belongs to it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|9, 773)^(Prati 1951)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}