durante

Forms

durante (preposition, invariable; as an adjective, plural duranti)^[2][1]

Etymology

It is the present participle of durare (“to last”), which has hardened, in the singular only, into a preposition.^[3][4][5][6] Devoto explains it from absolute phrases in which a phrase such as “durante l'estate” meant “while the summer lasts”.^[7] DEI notes that the participle first followed its noun, as in Old French, and that Boccaccio already put it first, an order that appears in French only in the 16th century.^[8] The same participle is French durant, Occitan durant, Catalan durant, Spanish durante and Portuguese durante.^[8][9]

The verb is Latin dūrō (“to last; to harden”).^[3][4][1] DELI calls the Latin verb of uncertain origin and wrongly linked with dūrus (“hard”);^[3][4] Nocentini keeps them together and compares Ancient Greek δηρόν (dērón, “for a long time”) and Sanskrit दूर (dūrá, “far”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Pisan translation of Albertano da Brescia's treatises (1287–1288), in the sense “while something is going on”.^[10] DELI dates the preposition to Francesco da Barberino, before 1348.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the participle as an adjective, “lasting”: Boccaccio's lilies are “caduchi e poco duranti” (frail and short-lived), and Matteo Villani calls stone lions “duranti per lunghi secoli” (lasting for long centuries).^[11] In botany it described evergreen plants, and in medicine it meant “during the course of” a remedy.^[10] Boccaccio still made the participle plural with a plural noun.^[11]

The adjective survives today only in vita natural durante “for life”, recorded as a vita mia durante naturale in Cellini (before 1571) and in its present form in 1826.^[3][12] In banking il durante is the trading between the opening and closing of a stock-exchange session.^[5][13]

Timeline

• 1287–1288 – A Pisan translation of Albertano has the first record.^[10]
• Before 1348 – Francesco da Barberino uses durante as a preposition.^[3]
• Before 1571 – Cellini writes a vita mia durante naturale.^[3]
• 18th century – Durante is the name of a hard-wearing woollen cloth.^[8]
• 1826 – Vita natural durante is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Preposition

1. during, in the course of: Durante il viaggio ho letto due libri.^{[5][6][14][1]}
2. At the time of (a historical period): durante il Rinascimento.^[6][13]

Adjective

1. (literary) Lasting; today only in vita natural durante, for the whole of one's life.^[6][12][2]

Noun

1. (banking) The trading done during a stock-exchange session.^[5][13][2]

Related words

• durare
• durata
• duraturo
• durevole
• French durant

Usage notes

DEI records a separate 18th-century durante, a strong woollen cloth glossed on one side, named from the same participle because it lasted.^[8] Durante is also a man's given name and a surname, from the Latin name Durans.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1403
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 2, 419
12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse