dito Italian · revision 38393

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Monza Glossary|origins=la digitus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈdi.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dito''' ''m'' (plural (considered individually) diti m or (collectively) dita f, diminutive (usually in reference to children) ditìno, augmentative ditóne (“big toe”), pejorative ditàccio)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|deto]], [[roa-oit|dedo]] and [[roa-oit|dido]], with the feminine plurals [[roa-oit|dite]] and [[roa-oit|deta]].^(TLIO)^(GDLI) Northern dialects have forms such as Venetian ''deo'' and Triestine ''dedo''.^(LEI|20, 403)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*ditus]], a spoken form of [[la|digitus|t=finger, toe]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(LEI|20, 403) The LEI posits the shortened form already for Late Latin, and Devoto explains it by the loss of the /g/ between vowels before a front vowel, which happened before the loss of the inner vowel.^(LEI|20, 403)^(Devoto 1968) The feminine plural in ⟨-a⟩ goes back to the Late Latin neuter plural [[m|la|digita]].^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1362)

+

+ The word is found across Romance: [[fr|doigt]], [[oc|det]], [[ca|dit]], [[es|dedo]], [[pt|dedo]], [[sc|didu]] and [[ro|deget]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) DEI notes that the forms with /i/ belong to Tuscany, Emilia, Lombardy and Piedmont, while the Veneto, Umbria, Lazio and the south have the regular /e/ from the short Latin vowel; in the south a form with the consonants swapped, [[m|la-vul|*giditus]], underlies [[scn|iditu]] and [[nap|jirete]].^(DEI|1362)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The origin of the Latin word is uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008) Its meaning makes a link with [[m|la|dīcō|t=to say]] and the root [[ine-pro|*deyḱ-|t=to show]] attractive, the finger being the “pointer”, and Nocentini and Wiktionary accept it, with the voiced /g/ explained as a variant root [[m|ine-pro|*deyǵ-]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan doubts this, because such a change of voicing has no parallel in Latin and no root of that shape is securely attested.^(de Vaan 2008) DEI thinks a connection with [[grc|δάκτυλος|tr=dáktulos|t=finger]] could only be explained through a Mediterranean substrate.^(DEI|1362)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's earliest record is the Monza Glossary of the 10th century.^(TLIO) DELI dates the sense “measure the width of a finger” before 1292, in Bono Giamboni, and the anatomical sense, one of the jointed parts in which the hands and feet end, to Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already used the word for the index finger in particular, as Dante does in ''Purgatorio'' when a soul calls out to him “pointing her finger” (''drizzando 'l dito''), and in the phrase ''dito di Dio'' “finger of God”, translating the biblical ''digitus Dei'' for divine power.^(TLIO)^(Treccani 2011)^(DEI|1362) ''Dito grosso'' for the thumb or the big toe goes back to the 14th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1362)

+

+ The sense “finger of a glove” is dated 1561 (Alessandro Citolini).^(DELI 1999) Many figurative phrases are built on the word: ''legarsela al dito'' “to bear a grudge”, which Tommaseo saw as a biblical image, ''mettere il dito sulla piaga'' “to touch the sore point”, ''toccare il cielo con un dito'' “to be overjoyed” and ''mordersi le dita'' “to regret bitterly”.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) In music, ''dito'' entered the language of violin technique by 1782.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – The word appears in the Monza Glossary.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''dito'' as a measure of width.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for the finger in the ''Convivio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Dito grosso'' “thumb, big toe” is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1362)

+ * 1561 – Alessandro Citolini uses it for the finger of a glove.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1768 – ''Ditata'' “fingermark” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1892 – ''Diteggiare'' and ''diteggiatura'' (musical fingering) are recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|finger]] or [[m|en|toe]]: each of the jointed parts in which the hands and feet end; also the digits of some animals: ''Si è tagliato un dito pelando le patate.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The [[m|en|index finger]] in particular, used to point or threaten: ''Mi indicò la strada col dito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The part of a [[m|en|glove]] that covers a finger.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A finger's width, used as a small measure: ''Versami solo un dito di latte.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(historical)'' An old unit of length, a twenty-fourth of a [[m|en|cubit]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ditale]]

+ * [[ditalino]]

+ * [[ditata]]

+ * [[diteggiare]]

+ * [[diteggiatura]]

+ * [[ditola]]

+ * [[additare]]

+ * [[ditone]]

+ * [[infradito]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[digitale]]

+ * [[digitare]]

+ * [[digitato]]

+ * [[la|digitus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is usually the feminine ''le dita'' when the fingers are thought of together, and the masculine ''i diti'' when they are counted one by one or named.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) ''Dito grosso'' is the colloquial name for the thumb or the big toe, and ''dito piccolo'' for the little finger.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}