-ente

Forms

-ente m or f by sense (adjective-forming suffix, plural -enti)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin -ens, the ending of the present participle of Latin verbs of the second and third conjugations (genitive ⟨-entis⟩).^[1][2][3][4] Treccani adds that it was at first the ending of the verbs in ⟨-ĕre⟩, then spread to those in ⟨-ēre⟩ and almost entirely to those in ⟨-ire⟩.^[4][5]

The Latin ending arose by a new division of forms such as monēns, from the stem ⟨monē-⟩ and ⟨-ns⟩, or legēns, from ⟨leg-⟩, a thematic vowel and ⟨-ns⟩.^[1]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms the present participle of verbs in -ere and -ire: temente, sentente.^[6][7][1]
2. Forms adjectives from verbs, naming a state or way of being: diffidente, eccellente, trasparente.^[4][5][6]
3. Forms nouns from verbs, mostly for people who do something or are in some condition (agente, docente, studente, supplente), less often for things or ideas (assorbente, detergente, movente).^[4][5][2][3]
4. Rarely, joined to an adjective or a noun: maggiorente.^[7][4]

Word family

• studente
• docente
• paziente
• presidente
• agente
• dipendente
• vivente
• accogliente
• trasparente
• maggiorente

Related words

• -ante
• Latin -ens

Usage notes

Some words in -ente go back to a Latin verb that Italian has not kept.^[4] Many such participles are now used only as adjectives or nouns.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse