affatto Italian · revision 38378

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1274, Pietro da Bescapè}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /afˈfat.to/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from the phrase [[a]] [[fatto]], in the sense “in fact, as a thing completed”, written as one word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968|21) DEI and Wiktionary analyse it as [[af|it|a|fatto]].^(DEI|73)^(Wiktionary)

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+ DELI explains the negative sense “not at all” from the frequent pairing of the adverb with a negation ([[non]], [[niente]]), so that it took on their meaning by itself; it notes, after Luca Serianni, that this sense now prevails.^(DELI 1999) DEI keeps the negative use apart as a second head and calls it especially southern.^(DEI|73)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the Lombard ''Libro'' of Pietro da Bescapè (1274), for “completely, wholly; really”.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) Old texts also write ''afatto'', ''affacto'' and ''adfacto''.^(TLIO) DELI's first Tuscan record is Giovanni Villani (before 1348), who writes of being ''affatto sconfitti'', utterly defeated.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adverb was soon used to strengthen a negation: ''non affatto'' about 1350 in the Italian translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi, ''nulla affatto'' in Giuseppe Baretti (1743) and ''niente affatto'' in Ippolito Nievo (before 1861).^(DELI 1999) In 1839 the purist Marcantonio Parenti complained that people, especially in the south, used ''affatto'' alone for “not at all”, which by its proper sense would mean the opposite.^(DELI 1999)

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+ Modern dictionaries still record both uses: the positive “entirely” as literary or formal (''un punto di vista affatto diverso''), and the negative as the common one, alone in colloquial answers (“Sei stanco?” “Affatto!”).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Treccani calls the bare negative use incorrect though widespread.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1274 – Pietro da Bescapè uses ''afato'' “completely”.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''affatto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1350 – ''Non affatto'' appears in the translation of Pietro de' Crescenzi.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1743 – Giuseppe Baretti writes ''nulla affatto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1839 – Marcantonio Parenti condemns ''affatto'' alone for “not at all”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1861 – Ippolito Nievo writes ''niente affatto''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(literary, formal)'' [[m|en|entirely]], wholly, quite: ''due interpretazioni affatto diverse''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With a negation, [[m|en|at all]]: ''Non mi sono affatto annoiato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' Alone, especially in answers, “not at all”: “Ti disturbo?” “Affatto.”^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fatto]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Niente affatto'' (“not at all”) is the usual reinforced answer.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Because ''affatto'' properly means “completely”, style guides advise against using it alone as a negation, though the use is common.^(Treccani 2011)^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}