Etymologically
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dipendere

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Pronunciation

  • /diˈpɛn.de.re/[1]
  • Regional: /diˈpen.de.re/[1]

Forms

dipendere (first-person singular present dipèndo, first-person singular past historic dipési, past participle dipéso, auxiliary èssere)[1] The old and regional form is dependere, and the old past participle was dipenduto.[2][3][4]

Etymology

According to DELI, GRADIT and Wiktionary it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *depĕndere, which took the place of Latin dēpendeō (“to hang down from; to depend on”) by a change of conjugation.[5][6][1][7] The Latin verb is literally “to hang down”, from dē- and pendeō (“to hang”) (see pendere); DEI notes that the compound came into use in the age of Augustus.[5][8][9] Nocentini, DEI and the GDLI treat the Italian verb as a learned borrowing instead, while the LEI files the Italian and dialect forms as continuations of the Vulgar Latin verb.[10][9][11][12]

The same verb is Old French dependre (“to hang”), recorded in 1154–1173, French dépendre, Catalan dependre, Spanish depender and Portuguese depender.[12][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Sienese translation of Giles of Rome of 1288, in the sense “to be determined by something”.[4][3] DELI's first example of the sense “to originate, be caused by” is in Dante, 1304–1308.[5][6] The physical sense “to hang” is found in a Venetian translation of Ovid from the first half of the 14th century.[12]

Semantic evolution

The sense of being under someone's authority is recorded in Francesco Guicciardini, before 1540, and the grammatical sense, of a case or clause governed by another, in Lionardo Salviati, before 1589.[5] In the modern language a bare Dipende is a cautious or evasive answer: “it depends”.[6][7] Mathematics uses the verb for a quantity that is a function of another.[13][7]

The old physical sense survives in poetry: Montale writes in 1925 that from its branch the known fruit does not hang (dalla sua rama non dipende / il frutto conosciuto).[3][12] The participle dipendente is recorded before 1540 in Guicciardini, and as a noun for an employee in Giuseppe Baretti in 1763–1765.[5] Dipendenza goes back to the 14th century.[5][10]

Timeline

  • 1288 – The verb appears in a Sienese translation of Giles of Rome.[4]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “to be caused by”.[5][6]
  • First half of the 14th century – A Venetian translation of Ovid uses dependere “to hang”.[12]
  • 14th century – Dipendenza is recorded.[5]
  • Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses the verb for being subject to authority, and the participle dependente.[5]
  • Before 1589 – Salviati uses its grammatical sense.[5]
  • 1763–1765 – Baretti uses dipendente for an employee.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To depend on, be caused by, derive from (with da): Il ritardo dipende dal traffico.[6][2][13]
  2. To be conditioned by something, or up to someone: La scelta dipende soltanto dai tuoi genitori.[6][2][8]
  3. To be dependent on someone for support: A trent'anni dipende ancora dalla famiglia.[6][2][3]
  4. To be under the authority of a person or office; to be employed by: Questo ufficio dipende dalla prefettura.[6][13][7]
  5. (grammar) Of a clause or case, to be governed by another.[6][13][3]
  6. (mathematics) Of a quantity, to be a function of another.[13][7]
  7. (poetic) To hang down.[6][3]

Word family

  • dipendente
  • dipendenza
  • indipendente
  • indipendenza

Usage notes

The verb takes essere and is conjugated like appendere: past historic dipesi, past participle dipeso.[13][2][1] Used alone, Dipende! means “it depends”.[6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1313
  10. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  11. ^ 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 e Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 19, 1206
  13. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse