nascente

Forms

nascente m or f (plural nascenti)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian nascere (“to be born”): its present participle, used as an adjective.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary takes it from Latin nāscentem, the accusative of the present participle of nāscor (“to be born”).^[1]

De Vaan traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *ǵnh₁-sk-e/o- (“to be born”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates the adjective “that is born, that begins” before 1321, in Dante.^[2] In Paradiso VIII Sicily is darkened Non per Tifeo, ma per nascente solfo (“not by Typhoeus but by rising sulphur”).^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Early translators also used it for what is newly born: a version of Livy has la nascente fiamma, the new flame put out by streams of blood, and a version of Saint Augustine uses nascente as a noun for one who is born.^[7] Segneri wrote of la Chiesa nascente, the Church in its first days.^[7]

Modern senses keep the verbal value, of a day, the sun or a feeling that is just beginning.^[8] The sole nascente became a symbol of socialist parties, and astro nascente a rising star of sport or entertainment.^[9][8][4] In chemistry stato nascente is the highly reactive state of an element at the moment it is set free in a reaction, and in heraldry the word describes an animal that rises from a line of the shield.^[8][4][10]

Timeline

• Before 1321 – Dante uses nascente.^[2]
• 14th century – Nocentini's date for the adjective.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. rising, dawning, at its beginning: la luna nascente.^[4][5][8][1]
2. (figurative) Newly formed, beginning to grow: una nascente amicizia.^[4][8] Astro nascente is a rising star.^[4][9][8]
3. (chemistry) Stato nascente: the highly reactive state of an element at the moment it is released in a reaction.^[4][5][8]
4. (heraldry) Of an animal or figure, issuing from a dividing line of the shield or from the wreath of the helmet, with only part of the body shown.^[10][4][8]

Noun

1. (literary) One who is being born.^[11][7]

Related words

• nascere
• nascita
• Latin nāscor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
9. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli