conveniente

Forms

conveniente (plural convenienti)^[1] The old form is convenente.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin conveniēns (“fitting, suitable”), the present participle of conveniō (“to come together; to suit”).^[5][3][1] DEI counts it a learned word, and the modern dictionaries describe it as the present participle of convenire.^[3][6][7][8] The Latin verb is formed from con- and veniō (“to come”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Ristoro d'Arezzo's treatise of 1282, in Aretine.^[2] DELI's first sense, “proportionate, corresponding”, is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308), where the Sun, straying from its path, passed through parts “non convenienti al suo fervore” (“not suited to its heat”).^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the adjective meant fitting, serving its purpose well, conforming to law, decent, and well proportioned, and as a noun it named a situation or event, what is due to someone by law, and an advantage or interest.^[2] Boccaccio describes manners “più convenienti a bestia che ad uomo” (“more fitting to a beast than a man”).^[11][8]

The commercial sense, “economically advantageous, cheap”, is recorded from 1865, in Tommaseo's dictionary.^[10] It is now one of the main senses, used of prices, deals and purchases.^[12][6]

Timeline

• 1282 – Ristoro d'Arezzo uses conveniente.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “proportionate, corresponding”.^[10]
• 1865 – The sense “economically advantageous” appears in Tommaseo.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Suitable, appropriate, fitting the circumstances: un abito conveniente alla cerimonia.^[12][6][7]
2. Proportionate, adequate, fair: un compenso conveniente.^[12][6][8]
3. Advantageous, especially in money; cheap, good value: Quel negozio ha prezzi molto convenienti.^[12][6][7]

Word family

• convenientemente
• inconveniente

Related words

• convenienza
• convenire
• Latin conveniens

Usage notes

With essere and a clause it means advisable: non è conveniente, it is not wise.^[7][8] Poco conveniente is a euphemism for unseemly.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1090
4. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET