pregatore

Forms

pregatore m (plural pregatori, feminine pregatrice)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin precātor (“intercessor”), an agent noun from precor (“to beg, pray”).^[2][3][1][4] Treccani and Gabrielli call the Latin word Late Latin.^[5][6] In Italian it matches pregare with the suffix -tore, and GRADIT refers it to that verb.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261, and GRADIT before 1294.^[7][3] The GDLI's first quotation is from Brunetto Latini's Rettorica, where a lover pleads with his lady and she weakens the arguments of the pregatore, the one who entreats.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has always meant one who begs, asks or prays, for himself or for others.^[2] Petrarch writes ’l pregator e i preghi eran sì ardenti (“the one who begged and his prayers were so ardent”), and Boccaccio speaks of the purity of the pregatore.^[5][8] Old forms are precatore, precaore and priegatore.^[2] Today it is rare and literary;^[3][5] pregante is more usual.^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 1261 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[7]
• Before 1294 – GRADIT's date;^[3][2] Brunetto Latini uses it in the Rettorica.^[3][2]
• 14th century – Petrarch and Boccaccio use it.^[5][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare, literary) One who prays or entreats; a suppliant.^[3][7][5][1]

Adjective

1. (rare, literary) That prays or entreats.^[3][7][6]

Word family

• pregatrice

Related words

• pregare
• preghiera
• Latin precor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 117
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
6. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
7. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET