preparare

Forms

preparare (first-person singular present prepàro, first-person singular past historic preparài, past participle preparàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin praeparō (“to make ready beforehand”), from prae- (“before”) and parō (“to make ready, provide”).^[2][3][4][1] Körting notes that the verb is learned in every Romance language, as in French préparer and Spanish preparar.^[5][3] DEI dates Middle French préparer to the 14th century.^[6]

DELI connects parō with pariō (“to give birth”), as if it first meant to provide one's husband with a son.^[2] De Vaan explains it instead as a verb made from a noun meaning “provision”, from a root meaning “to provide, grant”, and compares Ancient Greek ἔπορον (époron, “provided, gave”).^[7] The simple verb is continued by parare.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Boccaccio (1353), for making something ready for use by supplying what it needs: in the Decameron the storytellers are told that whatever the new queen decides “si possa preparare” (may be prepared) for the next morning.^[2][8] GRADIT dates the word 1348–1353.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Related learned words came in at about the same time: preparazione is in Dante, preparativo in the Fioretti di San Francesco, and preparato “ready” in the translation of the Abbot Isaac.^[2] The reflexive prepararsi “to get ready” is recorded in Michele Savonarola (before 1468).^[2] Medicine and pharmacy used the verb for compounding remedies from 1623, chemistry from the 19th century, and music for preparing a dissonance from 1745.^[6][8]

The noun preparato “a pharmaceutical preparation” dates from 1839–1841, and the sense “trained, well-prepared” from Annibal Caro (before 1566).^[2] In 1871 Tommaseo recorded the senses “to put someone in the right frame of mind” and “to have in store”.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1321 – Dante uses preparazione.^[2]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses preparare.^[2]
• Before 1468 – Michele Savonarola uses prepararsi.^[2]
• 1623 – The Florentine Ricettario uses the verb for preparing medicines.^[6]
• 1839–1841 – Preparato is recorded for a pharmaceutical product.^[2]
• 1871 – Tommaseo records the senses “to have in store” and “to get someone ready”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To prepare, to get something ready for use: Hai già preparato lo zaino per la gita?^{[4][9][10][1]}
2. To make a dish or a drink: Stasera preparo le lasagne.^[4][9][10]
3. To organize, to arrange everything needed for an event: preparare una festa, preparare un trasloco.^[4][9]
4. To work out or draft a text: Sta preparando la tesi di laurea.^[4][9][11]
5. To study for an exam or a competition: preparare un esame.^[11][12]
6. To train or coach someone for a test: L'allenatore prepara la squadra per la finale.^[4][10][1]
7. To get someone ready in body or mind: Bisogna prepararla alla brutta notizia.^[4][10][11]
8. (figurative) To have in store: Chissà che cosa ci prepara il domani.^[4][10]
9. (chemistry) To produce a substance by a reaction.^[9]
10. prepararsi: to get ready, to prepare oneself; of an event, to be coming: Sembra che si prepari un acquazzone.^[10][12]

Word family

• preparativo
• preparato
• preparatore
• preparatorio
• preparazione
• impreparato
• ripreparare

Related words

• parare
• apparecchiare
• Latin praeparō
• French préparer

Usage notes

Preparare il terreno means to pave the way for something.^[4][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3065
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli