lassù Italian · revision 39206

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=13th century, Giacomino da Verona}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /lasˈsu/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Regional: /lasˈsu/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lassù''' (archaic ''lassuso''; also written ''là su'')^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|là|su|t1=there|t2=up]]; the oldest texts spell it “la su”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The archaic form “lassuso” is built in the same way on [[suso]], the older form of [[su]].^(DEI|2174)^(Treccani 2011) The double /ss/ reflects the doubling of the consonant after a stressed final vowel (raddoppiamento sintattico) in the phrase “là su”.^(Treccani 2011) Its counterpart is [[laggiù]], formed in the same way with [[giù]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the 13th-century poetry of Giacomino da Verona, in the form ''la su'', with the sense “up there, in that high place”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Zingarelli dates the word before 1276.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses ''lassù'' for heaven and paradise in the ''Inferno'' (1300–1308), and ''di lassù'' “from heaven” before 1321; in the ''Paradiso'' he writes that splendour is gained ''lassù'' by rejoicing.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Petrarch speaks of “the fury from up there” (''il furor di lassù'') of the northern peoples descending on Italy, the first use of the word for a place in the north (before 1374).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Boccaccio uses it for a high place in the ''Decameron''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The religious sense lives on in phrases such as ''quel di lassù'', God, and the Tuscan proverb ''il giudizio di lassù non la sbaglia mai'', “the judgement from on high never errs”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In modern Italian ''lassù'' can also stand where the old ''costassù'' would have been used, for the place where the listener is.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – Giacomino da Verona writes ''la su''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1300–1308 – Dante uses ''lassù'' for heaven.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''di lassù'' “from heaven”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses the word for a northern land.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – The form ''lassuso'' is recorded.^(DEI|2174)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|up there]]: in or to a high place away from the speaker and the listener: ''Il rifugio è lassù, dietro quella cresta.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(by extension)'' Up north, in a distant northern land: ''Lassù in Finlandia d'inverno il sole sorge appena.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Before another adverb or a phrase of place, for emphasis: ''lassù sul tetto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' In [[cielo|alt=heaven]], in [[paradiso]], ''di lassù'' “from heaven”: ''Sono sicuro che la nonna ci guarda di lassù.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[là]]

+ * [[su]]

+ * [[laggiù]]

+ * [[quassù]]

+ * [[costassù]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Lassù'' is the opposite of [[laggiù]], and in the religious sense of [[quaggiù]], “here on earth”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The two-word spelling ''là su'' is now rare.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}