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evento

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word evento

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1321, Pisan statutes
Borrowed from
Latin eventus
Ultimate origin
Latin veniō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin eventus
Italian evento

Pronunciation

  • /eˈvɛn.to/[1]

Forms

evento m (plural eventi)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowed from Latin ēventus (“occurrence, outcome”), derived from ēveniō (“to come out, happen”), a compound of ex (“out of”) and veniō (“to come”).[2][3][4][5][6] DELI and Zingarelli give the source as the neuter ēventum, the noun formed from the past participle, while Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Treccani give ēventus.[2][7][3][8][9][1] The same Latin word gave French évent and Spanish evento.[3]

The modern sense “major event, show” came under the influence of English event.[9][10] DEI explains “grande evento” as modelled on French grand event (1901), itself taken from great event, first a sporting term used of the Derby in 1866.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Pisan statutes of 1321, in the sense “something that happens or has happened; its outcome”.[12] DELI dates the word to Bambagiuoli (before 1343), who in verse advises that one should provide against an expected misfortune and meet the outcome without fear.[2][10] DEI's date, the 16th century, is too late.[11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian had the conjunction in evento che “in case”.[12] Boccaccio uses lieti eventi “happy events”, Machiavelli speaks of the evento of becoming a prince from a private man, and Galileo of oracles understood only after the events they foretold.[10] Tommaseo distinguished it from esito: an evento is a turn in the course of things, the esito its final outcome.[13] The phrase lieto evento or fausto evento now means the birth of a child.[7][9][8]

The derivatives eventuale (before 1673) and eventualità (1695) were formed after Medieval Latin eventualis and eventualitas;[2][3] DELI regards DEI's 13th-century date for eventuale as an error.[2][3] In the 20th century the word acquired technical senses in probability theory, in criminal law (evento del reato, the effect of the criminal act) and in physics (a point in space-time).[4][8][5] Under the influence of English it also came to mean a major public occasion, a fair or a show;[10][9] GDLI's supplement quotes La Repubblica from 1984 and the Corriere della Sera from 2004 for organising eventi.[10][9]

Timeline

  • 1321 – The Pisan statutes use evento.[12]
  • Before 1343 – Bambagiuoli uses it in verse.[2]
  • Before 1673 – Eventuale “possible” is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1695 – Lorenzo Magalotti has eventualità.[2]
  • 1866 – English great event is used of the Derby, the model of grande evento.[11]
  • 1984 – La Repubblica uses eventi for organised public occasions.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An event, something that has happened or may happen, especially something of some importance: Nessuno aveva previsto un evento del genere.[4][8][5]
  2. A notable public occasion, show or initiative: La mostra è stata l'evento culturale dell'estate.[8][9][10]
  3. (probability) Each of the cases that may occur in an experiment, with a given probability.[4][5][9]
  4. (law) Evento del reato: the effect produced by the criminal act.[8][5]
  5. (physics) A point in spacetime, defined by three spatial coordinates and one of time.[8][5][7]

Word family

  • eventuale
  • eventualità
  • eventistico

Usage notes

Lieto evento or fausto evento is the birth of a child.[7][9][8] In ogni evento or a ogni evento means “whatever happens”.[9][7][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 523
  11. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1572
  12. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Evento.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/evento. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·