nessuno
Italian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Latin nē (“not”) + ipse (emphatic, literally “himself”) + ūnus (“one”), meaning “not even one”. Cognate with Neapolitan nisciuno, Sardinian nisciunu, Friulian nissun, Ligurian nisciǜn, and Old French neisune. Compare Spanish ninguno and Romanian niciun.
Pronunciation edit
Determiner edit
nessuno (feminine nessuna, no plural, superlative nessunissimo)
Pronoun edit
nessuno m sg (singular only, feminine nessuna)
Usage notes edit
- The determiner has no plural form and is therefore only used with singular nouns. The pronoun is also a singulare tantum.
- Before any grammatically connected word not beginning with s + consonant, cn, gn, pn, ps, x, or z, the masculine form nessuno changes into the apocopic form nessun, while the feminine form nessuna becomes nessun' before vowels:
- nessun dolore ― no pain
- nessun amico ― no friends
- nessun'amica ― no (female) friends
- nessun altro ― nobody else
Synonyms edit
- (archaic, literary) nullo
- (archaic, literary) veruno
- (archaic, literary) chicchessia