attesa

Forms

attesa f (plural attese)^[1]

Etymology

The Italian dictionaries derive it from attendere (“to wait for”), through the past participle atteso.^[2][3][4][5] The LEI and the TLIO instead posit a Latin verbal noun Vulgar Latin *attēnsa (“waiting”), beside an adjective meaning “attentive”; it would also explain Catalan atesa (“keeping of a promise”).^[6][7]

The verb attendere is a learned word from Latin attendō (“to turn one's attention to”), formed from ad- and tendō (“to stretch”).^[2][3] The sense “to wait for” comes from Medieval Latin, where it is recorded in the 9th century in the charters of Lausanne.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's first record is in Ghiberti, a poet of the Sicilian School, about 1235, and Old Sicilian has the form attisa.^[6] The TLIO cites Pier della Vigna (before 1249), and DELI Amorozzo da Firenze, whose poem complains of a life ch'ha fatto lunga attesa, “that has waited long”.^[7][2][8] The sense is “waiting”, and also the anxious state of one who waits.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the noun for the natural end of a thing and for the fulfilment of a promise.^[7] A masculine ateso meant delay, and sanza atteso or senza alcuna atesa meant “without delay”.^[6] In the dialects of Parma, Venice and Vicenza the word was used in trade for an expectation.^[6]

The modern phrases are recent: sala d'attesa, “waiting room”, is recorded from 1961, and attesa di vita, “life expectancy”, appears in La Repubblica in 1989.^[6][8] In the plural attese are the hopes placed in someone or something, and in dolce attesa means “pregnant”.^[4][9][5]

Timeline

• c. 1235 – Ghiberti uses attesa.^[6]
• Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses it.^[7]
• 13th century – Amorozzo da Firenze writes of a lunga attesa.^[2][8]
• 1961 – Sala d'attesa is recorded.^[6]
• 1989 – Attesa di vita appears in La Repubblica.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. wait, waiting; the time spent waiting: Dopo un'ora di attesa è arrivato il medico.^[4][9][5][1]
2. (often plural) expectation, what one hopes for from someone or from a situation: Il nuovo album non ha deluso le attese.^[4][9][5]
3. (telephony) in attesa: on hold.^[9]

Word family

• attesismo
• attesista

Related words

• attendere
• atteso
• attento
• attenzione

Usage notes

Common phrases are in attesa di, sala d'attesa, lista d'attesa “waiting list” and in dolce attesa “expecting a baby”.^[4][1][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 2063
7. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier