laggiù Italian · revision 38461

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1313, Dante}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ladˈd͡ʒu/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Regional: /ladˈd͡ʒu/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|là|giù]], the phrase written solid, with the doubling of the consonant that follows a stressed final vowel.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) Old forms are [[roa-oit|laggiùe]] and [[m|roa-oit|laggiuso]], with the older adverb [[m|roa-oit|giuso]].^(DEI)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The adverb [[giù]] goes back to [[la-vul|iusum]], a Vulgar Latin variant of [[la|deorsum|t=downwards]] that was reshaped after [[m|la-vul|susum]], from [[m|la|sursum|t=upwards]].^(LEI|19, 1153) Romance has both types: [[ro|jos]] continues the classical form, and [[fro|jus]] the Vulgar Latin one.^(LEI|19, 1153) The LEI also records old northern phrases such as [[roa-oit|là gioso]] and [[m|roa-oit|là zoxo]] for “down there; in a distant place”.^(LEI|19, 1153)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is Dante, before 1321, as ''là giù'' and ''là giuso'', in the sense “down there, down below”.^(DELI 1999) In the ''Inferno'' Dante writes of a spirit weeping for “la colpa che là giù cotanto costa” (“the sin that costs so dear down there”).^(GDLI|8, 1)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) GRADIT, Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word before 1313.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in Dante the adverb could point to a place that is far away or lies to the south (1313–1319).^(DELI 1999) It could also stand for ''costaggiù'', the place below where the listener is: Dante asks “O anima, che se' laggiù nascosta” (“O soul hidden down there”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Boccaccio uses ''laggiù'' for going down from the house to the garden.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

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+ Today the word means “down there” or “over there”, and is often followed by a phrase that makes the place precise; it is used especially for the south of Italy as seen from the north.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) It is the opposite of ''lassù''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1313 – The adverb is first recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante uses it for a distant place.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''là giù'' and ''là giuso'' for “down there”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Down there, [[m|en|below]]: ''Guarda laggiù, nella valle.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Over [[m|en|there]], in a distant place, often in the south: ''Che tempo fa laggiù in Sicilia?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Before an adverb or phrase of place, making it more precise: ''laggiù in fondo al corridoio''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[là]]

+ * [[giù]]

+ * [[lassù]]

+ * [[quaggiù]]

+ * [[costaggiù]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Laggiù'' is opposed to ''lassù'' (up there), and to ''quaggiù'' (down here).^(Zingarelli 2010) The separate spelling ''là giù'' is less frequent, and ''laggiuso'' is archaic.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}