esistente

Forms

esistente m or f by sense (plural esistenti)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin exsistens (“existing”), the present participle of exsistō (“to emerge, appear; to be”).^[2][3][4] It also serves as the present participle of esistere, borrowed from the same Latin verb, which DELI first finds only in the 17th century.^[5][6][2]

The Latin verb is formed ex- (“out”) and sistō (“to cause to stand, to stop”), and its first meaning was “to rise up, come out, appear”.^[2][1][7] This is a reduplicated present of the root of stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).^[8][1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Questioni filosofiche from southeastern Tuscany, after 1298, where the word means “that exists, created, living”, often set against what only seems to be.^[9] DELI dates the adjective to Cavalca, before 1342, who writes that evil is nothing e causa esistente non ha (and has no existing cause).^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word was a term of philosophy, opposed to apparente: Buti calls a sophism argomento apparente e non esistente, an argument that seems valid but is not.^[10][11] Old Italian also used it for what is present in a place or available, and in law for an official then in office; old forms include essistente and existente.^[9]

The noun l'esistente, “what exists, what is already in place”, is current in the phrase gestire l'esistente, to manage what one has; in philosophy it is what exists in itself.^[4][12][5]

Timeline

• After 1298 – The Questioni filosofiche use esistente.^[9]
• Before 1342 – Cavalca uses the adjective.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. existing, real, in existence; actually present: le risorse esistenti.^[4][12][6]
2. Known, available, to be found: tutti i documenti esistenti.^[4][12]

Noun

1. What exists, what is already there or in use: gestire l'esistente.^[4][5][12]
2. (philosophy) What exists in itself, a being.^[5][11]

Word family

• inesistente

Related words

• esistere
• esistenza
• Latin exsistō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 352
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse