Etymologically
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evento

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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