carissimo
/kaˈris.si.mo/
adjective
Origin
Latin
carus — dear, precious
Overview
Meaning Now
- Most dear, very dear, or beloved.
- Extremely expensive (often used in the masculine form 'carissimo' as an exclamation).
Literal older meaning
dearest
Language path
Latin → Italian
Earliest form
carissimo
Earliest period
13. yüzyıl
Journey
The suffix '-issimo' is derived directly from the Latin superlative '-issimus'. In Italian, it became a highly productive way to intensify adjectives, replacing older periphrastic constructions used in Latin.
Evolution
- Latin
carissimus
“dearest, most beloved”
Superlative form of 'carus'.
- Early Italian
carissimo
“dearest”
Loss of Latin final -us and simplification of morphology.
Connections
Word parts
car-
root
dear
-issimo
suffix
superlative indicator
Related across languages
Spanish
carísimo
very expensive
French
cher
dear (related root)
Related words
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Related to carissimo
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.