neve Italian · revision 39224

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Mazzeo di Ricco|origins=ine-pro *snígʷʰs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈne.ve/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''neve''' ''f'' (plural nevi)^(Wiktionary)

+ The archaic form is [[m|roa-oit|nieve]], still used in rural Tuscany.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Prati 1951|696)^(Treccani 2011) Old and dialect texts also have ''nive'' and ''gneve''.^(GDLI|11, 410)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|nix|t=snow]], from the accusative [[m|la|nix|alt=nivem]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[fro|noif]] (modern [[fr|neige]], from the verb [[m|fr|neiger]]), [[oc|neu]], [[ca|neu]], [[es|nieve]], [[pt|neve]], [[sc|nie]] and [[ro|nea]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) The DÉRom reconstructs two Proto-Romance forms, one with a short /i/ and one with /e/; the second covers the south-west of the Romance area and overlaps with the first in most of Italy, which explains the old Italian [[m|roa-oit|nieve]].^(DÉRom)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The Latin noun goes back to [[itc-pro|*sniks]] and [[ine-pro|*snígʷʰs|t=snow]].^(Wiktionary) Its cognates are [[grc|νίφα|tr=nípha]] (accusative), [[goh|snēo]], [[de|Schnee]], [[en|snow]], [[lt|sniegas]], [[cu|снѣгъ|tr=sněgŭ]] and [[cy|nyf]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968) The Latin verb [[m|la|ninguit|t=it snows]] keeps a nasal infix.^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Mazzeo di Ricco, of the early 13th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The Sicilian poem says that crystal, once frozen hard, can have no hope ''ch'ello potesse neve ritornare'', “that it could turn back into snow”.^(GDLI|11, 410)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Cavalcanti wrote of ''bianca neve scender sanza venti'', “white snow falling without wind”, and Dante used the word several times.^(GDLI|11, 410)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) From Petrarch, before 1374, it also means whiteness, as of the skin, and Tasso wrote of a bare breast showing its snows.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The derivatives came over the centuries: ''nevicare'' in Boccaccio (1353), ''nevischio'' “sleet” before 1444, and ''nevaio'' “snowfield” before 1449, in its modern sense from 1892.^(DELI 1999) ''Nevato'', the snowfield at the top of a glacier, is the French ''névé'', spread through mountaineering.^(DELI 1999) In the 20th century drug users' slang adopted ''neve'' for cocaine.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – Mazzeo di Ricco uses ''neve''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1353 – Boccaccio uses ''nevicare'' “to snow”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1374 – Petrarch uses ''neve'' for whiteness.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1444 – ''Nevischio'' “sleet” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1796 – ''Nivoso'', the French republican month, is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1892 – Carducci uses ''nevaio'' in its modern sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1919 – ''Nevato'' is recorded, after French ''névé''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|snow]], the ice crystals that fall from the clouds in white flakes: ''Stanotte è caduto mezzo metro di neve.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Snow lying on the ground: ''Abbiamo spalato la neve davanti al garage.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary, figurative)'' [[m|en|whiteness]], as of the skin or of white hair: ''la neve dei capelli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(slang)'' [[m|en|cocaine]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(television)'' In ''effetto neve'', interference that shows on the screen as white and black dots.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bucaneve]]

+ * [[nevaio]]

+ * [[neviera]]

+ * [[nevischio]]

+ * [[nevato]]

+ * [[nevicare]]

+ * [[nevicata]]

+ * [[nevometro]]

+ * [[nevosità]]

+ * [[nevoso]]

+ * [[nevata]]

+ * [[nivale]]

+ * [[nivazione]]

+ * [[niveo]]

+ * [[innevare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[innevato]]

+ * [[nevare]]

+ * [[la|nix]]

+ * [[fr|neige]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''bianco come la neve'' “snow-white”, ''nevi perenni'' “perpetual snows”, ''neve carbonica'' “dry ice” and ''montare a neve'' “to whip (egg whites) stiff”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) A proverb says ''sott'acqua fame e sotto neve pane'': a rainy winter is bad for the wheat, a snowy one good.^(Treccani 2011) In Piedmont the usual word for snow is ''fiòca'', from the verb ''fioccare''.^(DEI|2581)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}