frattempo Italian · revision 39262

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1529, Da Porto|origins=it fra, it tempo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fratˈtɛm.po/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''frattempo''' ''m'' (uncountable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound, [[af|it|fra|tempo|t1=between|t2=time]], made from an older phrase with the words written separately.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary compares [[fr|entretemps]], also literally “between time”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is from Da Porto, before 1529, in the phrases ''in questo frattempo'', ''in quel frattempo'' and ''nel frattempo'', “meanwhile, in the time between”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Sabatini–Coletti dates the word to the 14th century.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun is used almost only in these phrases.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) The GDLI quotes Verri, Manzoni, Nievo and Gadda;^(GDLI) Manzoni writes in the ''Promessi sposi'' that many important things had happened ''in questo frattempo''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – Date given by Sabatini–Coletti.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * Before 1529 – Da Porto uses the word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|meantime]], the time between two moments or events, used only in phrases: ''nel frattempo'', ''in quel frattempo'', meanwhile: ''Tu compra il pane, nel frattempo io apparecchio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[frattanto]]

+ * [[intanto]]

+ * [[tempo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word occurs in the singular only, and in practice only in ''nel frattempo'' and the less common ''in questo frattempo'' and ''in quel frattempo'', all meaning ''frattanto'' or ''intanto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}