Etymologically
Log in

frequentare

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /fre.kwenˈta.re/[1]

Forms

frequentare (first-person singular present frequènto, first-person singular past historic frequentài, past participle frequentàto, auxiliary avére)[1] Old Italian forms include Venetian frequentar and the southern infinitive frequentari.[2] Old texts also have freguentare.[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin frequentāre (“to crowd; to visit often”), a learned word.[4][5][6][7][1] The Latin verb is formed from the adjective frequēns (“crowded, frequent”), the source of Italian frequente.[6][8][9] French fréquenter is recorded from the 12th century, and Old French also had a popular Old French fregonder.[4][10]

The origin of frequēns is uncertain: de Vaan reports Nussbaum's link with fraxō (“to go the watch rounds”), from a root Proto-Indo-European *bʰrekʷ-, and an older comparison with farciō (“to stuff”).[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Venetian translation of the Pamphilus, around 1250, in the sense “to go regularly to a place”: the lover often goes to the place where the woman usually is.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Dante (1304–1308) uses the verb for visiting a person often, and in the Paradiso for Monte Cassino, once frequented by pagans.[5][3] Old Italian also used it for keeping up relations with someone, for putting something into practice and for repeating an activity.[2] Attending a course of study or school lessons is dated to the 1660s.[5]

The reciprocal frequentarsi “to see each other often” and the sense of going out with someone belong to the modern language, as does the figurative reading of an author often.[12][7] Derivatives include frequentatore (17th century) and frequentazione (14th century).[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1250 – The Venetian Pamphilus uses frequentare.[2]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for visiting a person often.[5]
  • 14th century – Frequentazione and frequentato are recorded.[4]
  • 17th century – Frequentatore is recorded.[4]
  • 1660s – It is used for attending a course or school.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To frequent a place; to go there regularly: Da ragazzo frequentava la biblioteca comunale.[7][13][8]
  2. To see someone often, associate with; also to go out with someone: Non mi piace la gente che frequenti.[7][8][12]
  3. To attend a school, university or course: Mia sorella frequenta il secondo anno di medicina.[7][13][12]
  4. To read or study an author often: frequentare i classici.[7][13][12]
  5. To practise regularly, especially the sacraments.[13][8][12]
  6. (archaic, literary) To use frequently.[7][13][12]
  7. (intransitive, uncommon) To go often to certain places or to keep company (with in or con).[7][8][12]

Word family

  • frequentatore
  • frequentazione
  • frequentato
  • frequentabile
  • frequentarsi
  • frequentante
  • frequentativo
  • frequente
  • frequenza
  • Latin frequens
  • French fréquenter

Usage notes

The reciprocal frequentarsi is used of people who see each other often, or of a couple going out together.[12][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  4. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1715
  5. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  13. ^ 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