ovunque Italian · revision 38353

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo di Sant'Alessio (Marche)|origins=la ubi, la umquam}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /oˈvun.kwe/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|it|ove|-unque]], that is from the old word for “where” and the generalizing ending also found in [[chiunque]] and [[qualunque]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) DELI, Sabatini–Coletti and the GDLI trace it to [[la|ubi|t=where]] and [[la|umquam|alt=unquam|t=ever]], which replaced classical [[la|ubicumque|alt=ubīcumque|t=wherever]] with its generalizing [[m|la|-cumque]];^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI|12, 302) Wiktionary allows that the Latin word may have influenced the Italian formation.^(Wiktionary) DELI explains the change as the dropping of the repeated ⟨cu⟩ sound, and Prati posits a popular Latin form behind it.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|719) In the compound the Latin word for “ever” has taken the sense “any”.^(Wikizionario)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ Latin [[m|la|ubi]] continues an older [[m|la|cubi]] and goes back, according to de Vaan, to [[itc-pro|*kʷuþei]] and to the Indo-European interrogative stem [[ine-pro|*kʷu-]] with a locative suffix.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The plain word survives in [[ove]], in [[fr|où]] and [[ro|iu]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio'', a poem from the Marche of the late 12th century, which has the form ''oveunqua''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI|12, 302) DELI's first date is before 1292, in Bono Giamboni.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian had many forms, written as one word or two: ''ove unque'', ''oveunque'', ''ovunqua'', ''ovunche'' and others.^(TLIO) The word meant “in every place in which” and also “whenever”, and ''là ovunque'' meant “in each of the places where”.^(TLIO) It is common in the poets: Dante wishes his words to be commended “ovunque sono” (wherever they are), and Petrarch's laurel leads him “ovunque vuol” (wherever it wishes).^(GDLI|12, 302) Prati notes that in old texts it could simply mean “where”.^(Prati 1951|719)

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+ Ariosto's line “converrà che tu le faccia / compagnia sempre, ovunque andar le piaccia” shows the use with the subjunctive, and Metastasio's “ovunque il guardo giro, / immenso Iddio ti vedo” (wherever I turn my eyes, immense God, I see you) became a famous verse.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) The variant ''dovunque'' was formed on [[dove]].^(Prati 1951|719) Today DELI and the Zingarelli label ''ovunque'' literary beside ''dovunque'', while GRADIT marks it as common.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – ''Oveunqua'' appears in the ''Ritmo di Sant'Alessio''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI|12, 302)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''ovunque''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it in a canzone of the ''Vita nuova''.^(GDLI|12, 302)

+ * 1516 – Ariosto's ''Orlando furioso'' uses it with the subjunctive.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # [[m|en|wherever]], in any place in which; with the subjunctive, or the future indicative: ''Ovunque tu vada, ti scriverò.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|everywhere]], anywhere, in every place: ''Ho cercato le chiavi ovunque.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ove]]

+ * [[dovunque]]

+ * [[dove]]

+ * [[-unque]]

+ * [[la|ubicumque]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ovunque'' and ''dovunque'' mean the same; the Zingarelli treats ''ovunque'' as the literary one.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''Quasi ovunque'' means “almost everywhere”.^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}