comprare

Forms

comprare (first-person singular present cómpro, first-person singular past historic comprài, past participle compràto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *comperāre, from Latin comparō (“to prepare; to procure; to buy”), formed with com- and parō (“to prepare, furnish”).^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The LEI reconstructs the Vulgar Latin verb from its spread in the Romance languages, and the GDLI suggests that the form with /e/ arose to keep it apart from the verb meaning “to compare”.^[6][7] Sabatini–Coletti explain the Italian form by the loss of the unstressed /e/, which survives in the variant comperare.^[2] In Italy the verb replaced Latin emō (“to buy”), which left no Romance descendants, and competed with accattare.^[6][8]

The same verb is Romanian cumpăra, Old French comperer, Occitan comprar, Catalan comprar, Spanish comprar, Portuguese comprar and Sardinian comporare.^[4][8] Meyer-Lübke noted that the western forms seem to go back to the variant with /e/, while the LEI takes Romanian and Old French to show the classical vowel again; northern Italian dialects often have forms beginning with /kr/.^[8][6] De Vaan derives the simple Latin verb from a noun Proto-Indo-European *prh₃-o- (“providing”), with cognates in Ancient Greek ἔπορον (époron, “provided, gave”) and Old Irish ernaid (“grants”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur, of the last quarter of the 12th century.^[10][6] DEI and Zingarelli give 1219, at Venice, and DELI a Tuscan inventory of 1221, all in the sense “to acquire goods by paying their price”.^[11][12][3] Early in the 13th century Uguccione da Lodi writes of the man who would “comprar de la terra, canpi, vigna e closura” (buy land, fields, vineyard and enclosure).^[7]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the verb for buying credits and rights, for acquiring virtue, offices or the people's goodwill with money, for ransoming someone (also from sin) and for paying the price of a fault.^[10] The sense “to bribe” is recorded before 1639, in Campanella.^[3] Pulci's comperar le brighe “to look for trouble” shows the literary sense “to seek out something unpleasant”.^[13][12] Meyer-Lübke saw an older meaning in Piedmontese kumprè “to have a child”.^[8]

The noun compera (also compra) is a deverbal of the verb, recorded before 1348 in Giovanni Villani.^[3][4] Compratore continues a Late Latin comparator: comparatore is in an early 13th-century translation, comperatore in Bono Giamboni and compratore before 1556 in Aretino.^[3] Compravendita “sale contract” is recorded in 1857, and compravendere was made from it in 1942.^[3] The proverb chi disprezza compra says that whoever runs down the goods means to buy them.^[14]

Timeline

• Last quarter of the 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use the verb.^[10][6]
• 1219 – It is recorded at Venice.^[11][12]
• 1221 – A Tuscan inventory uses comprare.^[3]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses compera “purchase”.^[3]
• Before 1556 – Pietro Aretino uses compratore.^[3]
• Before 1639 – Tommaso Campanella uses the verb for “to bribe”.^[3]
• 1857 – Compravendita is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To buy, purchase: Ho comprato due chili di mele al mercato.^{[5][15][2][1]}
2. (transitive) To buy as a present for someone: Le abbiamo comprato una sciarpa.^[15]
3. (transitive, sport) To sign a player from another club.^[5][12]
4. (transitive) To obtain with money something that should not be for sale: Ha comprato il silenzio dei vicini.^[5][15][2]
5. (transitive) To bribe, corrupt: Hanno cercato di comprare un testimone.^[5][15][14]
6. (literary) To bring on oneself, seek out (trouble): comprare brighe.^[12][16]

Word family

• compera
• compratore
• compravendita
• compravendere
• comprabile
• ricomprare

Related words

• comperare
• comparare
• parare
• accattare
• Latin comparo

Usage notes

Comperare is an equally correct variant, with the present cómpero.^[15][2][1] Comprarsi adds emphasis: mi sono comprato una bici.^[2][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 16, 374
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 426
8. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1039
12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 317
14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
15. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli