disporre

Forms

disporre (first-person singular present dispóngo, first-person singular past historic dispósi, past participle dispósto or dispòsto, first-person singular imperfect disponévo, auxiliary avére)^[1] The older infinitive is disponere, still listed as archaic.^[2][3][4] Old Italian also has forms with des- such as Old Italian desponere and Old Italian desporre.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dispōnō (“to place here and there, arrange”), formed from Latin dis- (“apart”) + pōnō (“to put”).^[6][7][8][9] The infinitive is a contraction of the older disponere, after porre.^[4][10][11] The same verb is Old French despondre, Old Occitan desponre and Aromanian despune (“to command”).^[7][12]

The Latin verb is from Proto-Italic *po-sine/o-, a compound meaning “to put down” built on sinō (“to let, place”).^[13]

Some relatives came by other routes: disposizione from Latin dispositio, and, according to DELI, disponibile, disponibilità and dispositivo from French disponible, disponibilité and dispositif.^[6][7] Nocentini derives the adjective from the older infinitive within Italian and dates the French source only for the noun meaning “device”.^[7] The archaic senses “to depose” and “to set out” come from crossings with deporre and esporre.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (about 1260–1261).^[5] DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, in the sense “to arrange suitably by a set criterion”: a squared body of troops is to be drawn up as a wedge.^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

DELI dates the main senses: “to prepare” in Giordano da Pisa (1303–1306), “to put in a frame of mind” in Dante, “to command” in Boccaccio (1353), the reflexive “to get ready, intend” in G. Villani, and intransitive disporre di “to have at one's disposal” in A. Macinghi Strozzi, before 1471.^[6] Old Italian also used it in philosophy for preparing matter to receive form, in law for settling one's property by will, and for expounding a text.^[5]

The sense “to be equipped with”, said of buildings and services, is recorded only in 1952, in C. Alvaro.^[6] The proverb l'uomo propone e Dio dispone says that man proposes and God disposes.^[3][2]

Timeline

• About 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses the verb in his Rettorica.^[5]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for arranging troops.^[6]
• 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for “to prepare”.^[6]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for “to command”.^[6]
• Before 1471 – Disporre di “to have available” appears in A. Macinghi Strozzi.^[6]
• Before 1712 – Disponibile is recorded, in L. Magalotti.^[6]
• 1918 – Dispositivo “device” is recorded.^[6]
• 1952 – C. Alvaro uses it for “to be equipped with”.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To arrange, place in order: disporre le sedie in cerchio.^{[14][2][8][1]}
2. (transitive) To prepare, make ready.^[14][2][15]
3. (transitive, figurative) To put in a frame of mind, dispose (someone to something).^[14][2][16]
4. (transitive) To order, decree: il sindaco ha disposto la chiusura delle scuole.^{[14][2][15][1]}
5. (intransitive, with di) To have at one's disposal, have free use of; to count on someone.^{[14][2][15][1]}
6. (intransitive, with di; of a building or place) To be equipped with: l'appartamento dispone di due bagni.^[14][15][3]
7. (banking) To draw on a bank or person.^[14][1]
8. (archaic) To depose from office; to expound, explain.^{[14][15][17][1]}
9. (reflexive, disporsi) To take up positions; to get ready.^[15][3]

Word family

• disposto
• indisporre
• indisponente
• predisporre
• ridisporre
• bendisporre

Related words

• disponibile
• dispositivo
• disposizione
• porre
• disponibilità
• Latin dispōnō

Usage notes

The verb is conjugated like porre.^[2][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1350
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
13. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
14. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
17. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli