persino Italian · revision 38706

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=14th century, Bibbia volgarizzata}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /perˈsi.no/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|per|sino]], the phrase “per sino” written as one word, with “per” strengthening the preposition.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) “Sino” “up to, until” is itself [[fino]] with the ⟨s⟩ of [[sì]], or of an old “si” for “se”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The synonym [[perfino]] was formed in the same way from “per fino”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI dates the sense “even” to the 14th-century Bible translation;^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) GRADIT gives 1470, in the old form ''persì'', and Nocentini and Devoto–Oli the 15th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) In the old texts quoted by the GDLI the word is still a preposition, “up to, until”: the Bible translation asks how long the Lord will forget the speaker, “persino alla fine”, and Leon Battista Alberti writes “persino a qui” for “up to this point”.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The prepositional use, “as far as, until”, and the conjunctions ''persino che'' and ''persino a quanto'' “until” are found from the Bible translation to Apostolo Zeno in the 18th century, who writes of a chronicle that runs “persino al 1386”.^(GDLI) Tommaseo explained ''persino'' as ''sino'' with more force, and gave the absolute, emphatic use, as in “mi ha detto persino che non mi voleva più bene” (“they even told me they did not love me any more”).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) This is the modern sense: it marks something as the extreme case, beyond what one would expect.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – ''Persino'' appears in the Bible translation.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1470 – The old form ''persì'' is recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1807 – The synonym ''perfino'' is first written as one word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1861 – Tommaseo records the emphatic use “even”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|even]]: marks what follows as the extreme or least expected case; the same as [[perfino]]: ''Alla festa è venuto persino il nonno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # With a comparative, “even (more)”: ''Oggi fa persino più freddo di ieri.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Up to, [[m|en|until]], as a preposition.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sino]]

+ * [[fino]]

+ * [[perfino]]

+ * [[insino]]

+ * [[finanche]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}