presto

Forms

presto (feminine presta, masculine plural prestos, feminine plural prestas)^[1] Old Aragonese had a diphthongised form priesto “ready”, and DEMel records priesta beside presto in medieval texts.^[2][3]

Etymology

Corominas treats the adjective as borrowed from Late Latin praestus (“present, at hand; ready”), the Late Latin form of the classical invariable praestō (“at hand, ready”), a word related to the Latin verb from which prestar comes.^[4][5][6] Wiktionary instead counts it as inherited, through Old Spanish presto.^[1] The Late Latin adjective is known only from inscriptions, and the OLD lists such forms beside the adverb.^[7][1]

The same adjective is Catalan prest, French prêt and Italian presto.^[1][8] Portuguese has prestes “quick”, and García de Diego gives a medieval Aragonese priesto “ready”.^[2] Nocentini shows that the Italian adverb presto is the adjective used as an adverb, not a direct continuation of the Latin adverb.^[9]

The origin of the Latin adverb is unknown: the OLD calls its ending obscure, and the DHLF mentions two proposals, a compound of prae (“before”) with the root of stō (“to stand”), and a compound with a word for “hand” found in Sanskrit.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, in a 14th-century copy) has prestas son las mesnadas de las yentes cristianas “the companies of the Christian folk are ready”.^[10][4] Berceo, Apolonio and Juan Ruiz also use it, and Berceo says of a monk that obedience always found him tan presto “so ready”.^[4][11]

Semantic evolution

The two senses “ready, prepared” and “quick, prompt” go back to Old Spanish: Alfonso X's prose uses the adjective for being prepared to act and the word as an adverb, “soon, readily”.^[12] Corominas notes that from the classical period on it belongs only to the elevated style.^[4] Cervantes used it often, both as an adjective and in the adverbial phrase de presto “quickly”.^[13]

The Diccionario de Autoridades gave the adjective's senses “quick, diligent” and “prepared”, the adverb “at once”, and the proverb a un diestro, un presto, which teaches that speed sometimes counts for more than skill.^[14] The Academy still lists the same three senses and the phrase de presto.^[6] Moliner labels the adjective as cultivated, and used chiefly with a or para: presto a partir.^[15]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses prestas “ready”.^[10][4]
• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes, the first record in a text without a later copy.^[10]
• c. 1236 – Berceo's Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos has tan presto.^[10]
• 1254 – Alfonso X's Judizios de las estrellas use it for “ready to fight”.^[12]
• 1490 – first record of the derivative presteza.^[5]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin promptus for presto “prepared”.^[16]
• 1512 – first record from the Americas, in Puerto Rico.^[17]
• 1611 – Covarrubias derives presto and presteza from the Latin praesto.^[18]
• 1633 – first record of aprestar in the BDELC's dating.^[5]
• 1737 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records the proverb a un diestro, un presto.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. quick, prompt, diligent in doing something: una respuesta presta.^[6][1]
2. ready, prepared or willing to do something: Estaban prestos para salir.^[6][1]

Adverb

1. (literary) At once, promptly, very soon.^[6][1]

Word family

• presteza

Related words

• prestar
• Latin praestō
• Italian presto
• French prêt

Usage notes

The phrase de presto means “quickly”.^[6] The DLE has a separate presto (its presto²), the musical term for a very fast movement or a piece in that tempo, borrowed from Italian presto.^[19][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 5204
3. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. presto
4. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 646
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. prestar
6. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. presto
7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. praestō
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. prêt
9. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. presto
10. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. presto
11. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 604
12. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. presto
13. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 904
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 369
15. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. presto
16. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 400
17. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. presto
18. ^ Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1228
19. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. presto 2