convento

Forms

convento m (plural conventi)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin conventus (“assembly, meeting”), which ecclesiastical Latin used for a community of monks or friars and then for the house where they lived.^[2][3][4][5] DEI calls it a semi-learned word, and Prati a Latinism in the sense “assembly” and a rendering of Medieval Latin conventum (from the 12th century) in the sense “convent”.^[6][7] The Latin noun is derived from conveniō (“to come together, meet; to agree”), itself formed from Latin com- + veniō (“to come”).^[2][8][9]

The old sense “pact, agreement” continues the Latin neuter participle conventum (“agreement, covenant”), and the TLIO also allows a derivation from the old verb conventare.^[10][8][11] The sense “joint, gap between stones” goes back to the Latin noun in the sense “joining”.^[12][7]

The same Latin word gave French couvent, Old Occitan coven, Spanish convento and Portuguese convento.^[13][2] Inherited, it became Romanian cuvânt “word, speech”, a calque of a Greek word for “discourse”.^[6][14]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is conventu in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio, a poem from the Marche of the second half of the 12th century, in the sense “a group of people gathered together”.^[15][11][10] The sense “pact” follows in Giacomo da Lentini, about 1230–1250.^[11]

Semantic evolution

The religious sense is recorded before 1306 in Iacopone, for the building in which a community of friars or nuns lives, and it soon covered the community itself.^[15][12][5] Dante still uses the old sense “assembly”, as in quant'è 'l convento de le bianche stole (how great is the gathering of the white robes).^[10][7]

In the sense “pact” Old Italian had phrases such as a convento o a forza (by agreement or by force) and di piano convento (by tacit agreement), and Tommaseo–Bellini records bere per convento, drinking on a wager.^[11][16] This sense is now obsolete.^[10][17] Iacopone also used convento for the doctor's degree, after Medieval Latin.^[12]

From the 16th century the word named the joint or gap between two stones, bricks or planks, as in Biringuccio and Cellini.^{[12][16][17][18]} In the 19th century the Freemasons used convento for a general assembly, after English convent.^[6]

Timeline

• Second half of the 12th century – Conventu “gathering” appears in the Ritmo di Sant'Alessio.^[15][11]
• About 1230–1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses convento for a pact.^[11]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone uses it for a house of friars.^[15]
• Before 1537 – It is recorded for the joint between two stones.^[17]
• 19th century – Freemasons use it for a general assembly.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A convent or friary: the house where a community of friars or nuns lives under one rule: un convento di cappuccini.^{[10][4][19][1]}
2. The community that lives in such a house.^[10][4][19]
3. (archaic) An assembly or gathering of people.^{[10][19][17][1]}
4. (archaic) A pact, promise or agreement.^{[10][4][20][1]}
5. (archaic) The joint or gap between two stones, bricks or planks.^[10][17][1]

Word family

• conventuale
• conventino

Related words

• convenire
• Latin conventus
• French couvent

Usage notes

Entrare in convento is to become a friar or a nun.^[4][17] Quel che passa il convento is what there is, especially to eat, and one is told to make do with it.^[4][17][5] Wiktionary takes the surname Convento as a nickname, probably for a foundling raised in a monastery.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1090
7. ^ a b c Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 326
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
12. ^ 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, p. 3, 720
13. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
14. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
15. ^ 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
16. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
17. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
18. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1091
19. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
20. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli