nonno Italian · revision 38424

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1528, Antonio Alamanni|origins=la-lat nonnus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈnɔn.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nonno''' ''m'' (plural nonni, feminine nonna, diminutive nonnétto or nonnìno, pejorative nonnàccio, endearing nonnùccio)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|nonnus|t=monk; male nurse, tutor]], the masculine of [[m|la-lat|nonna|t=nurse]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) It is a word of children's speech.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Prati 1951|701) In the language of the Church it became a title of respect for an elderly man or one of high standing, and then the word for a monk, as in the Rule of Saint Benedict.^(DEI|2598)^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The Latin word is a nursery word, a doubled /n/ with a vowel, like [[cy|nain|t=grandmother]], [[sa|नना|tr=nanā́|t=mother]], [[grc|νάννας|tr=nánnas|t=uncle]], [[sq|nënë|t=mother]] and [[ru|ня́ня|tr=njánja|t=nanny]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) DELI and GRADIT compare [[m|grc|νόννος|tr=nónnos|t=father]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Its Romance descendants vary in meaning: [[fr|nonne|t=nun]], Sardinian [[m|sc|nonnu|t=godfather]], Sicilian [[m|scn|nunnu|t=father]].^(Körting 1907) In Calabria and Sicily the grandfather is instead [[m|scn|nannu]], from the related nursery word [[m|la|nanna]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is a sonnet of Antonio Alamanni, who died in 1528, about a baby who ''chiamò babbo, mamma, nonno e zio'' (“called daddy, mummy, grandpa and uncle”).^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) ''Nonna'' is older in the sense “wet nurse”, in Giovanni Dominici before 1419, and means a grandmother from Francesco Berni, before 1535.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in Giovanni Maria Cecchi, before 1587, ''nonno'' could mean any old man, and the plural ''i nonni'' came to stand for the ancestors, the people of former times.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The augmentative ''nonnone'' for a slow, decrepit person is recorded by Fanfani in 1855.^(DEI|2598)

+

+ In the slang of Italian barracks the ''nonno'' is the conscript near discharge who lords it over new recruits, the origin of ''nonnismo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The word was borrowed into English and into Mòcheno.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1419 – Giovanni Dominici uses ''nonna'' for a nurse.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1528 – Antonio Alamanni uses ''nonno'' for a grandfather.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1535 – Francesco Berni uses ''nonna'' for a grandmother.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1587 – Giovanni Maria Cecchi uses ''nonno'' for an old man.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1855 – Fanfani records ''nonnone''.^(DEI|2598)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|grandfather]], the father of one's father or mother: ''nonno paterno'', ''nonno materno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(plural)'' Grandparents; also forebears, the people of earlier generations: ''ai tempi dei nostri nonni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' An old man, especially as an affectionate form of address.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative, derogatory)'' Someone who seems older than his years in looks or ways.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative, humorous)'' A forerunner, prototype: ''il telegrafo è il nonno di internet''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(military slang)'' A conscript close to discharge who claims privileges over the recruits.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonna]]

+ * [[bisnonno]]

+ * [[trisnonno]]

+ * [[nonnismo]]

+ * [[nonnolone]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la-lat|nonnus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Sì, mio nonno!'' or ''mio nonno in carriola!'' is a colloquial retort that dismisses what someone has said as unbelievable.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}