all'uopo

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “at the need”.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /alˈl‿wɔ.po/
  • Rhymes: -ɔpo
  • Hyphenation: al‧l'uò‧po

Adverb

all'uopo

  1. (archaic, now chiefly humorous) if need be
    Synonym: se necessario
    • 1788, Giovanni Vincenzo Benini, transl., “Epistola quarta”, in L'uomo del Pope‎, translation of An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope, page 131:
      […] come potresti,
      In tanta impresa abbandonato e solo,
      Manifestar la verità e la patria
      Salvar, all'uopo, dalla sua ruina?
      How could you, left alone in such an endeavor, show the truth, and, if need be, save the motherland from ruin?
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see all',‎ uopo.

Further reading
  • uopo in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
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