preposto

Forms

preposto m (plural preposti)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian preporre (“to put in charge, place before”), its past participle, used as an adjective and a noun.^[2][3][4][5] The verb is a learned borrowing of Latin praepōnō, from prae- (“before”) and pōnō (“to put”).^[2] As a noun the word is also borrowed from Latin praepositus (“a person placed in charge”), the participle already used as a noun in Latin.^{[6][7][5][3][8]}

Sabatini–Coletti takes the sense “official in charge” from the Italian participle and the church title from the Latin noun.^[5] The same Latin noun is the source of prevosto, which came into Italian from prebosde, and of proposto and the learned preposito.^[9][10][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the adjective is in Zanobi da Strata, who died before 1364, in the sense “placed before”.^[2] His translation of Gregory the Great speaks of prelates preposti a' popoli “set over the peoples” as an example of life.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the noun meant a governor of a city or province.^[12][4] A northern translation of Gregory the Great tells how Paul escaped de la man de lo preposto de lo re Aretta “from the hands of King Aretas's governor”.^[13] As a church title it named a dignitary of a chapter or collegiate church.^[12][7] Since the 17th century it has also named a parish priest, the same as prevosto.^[12][2][7] Words formed from it in the 14th century include prepostatico, the office of a preposto, and preposteria, the government of a province.^[12]

Today the noun is a formal word for a person in charge of an office or body, and the adjective, with a, means “in charge of”: l'ufficio preposto ai controlli.^[4][3][14]

Timeline

• Before 1364 – Zanobi da Strata uses preposto “placed before, set over”.^[2][11]
• 14th century – The noun is used for a governor of a city or province.^[12]
• 1694 – Paolo Segneri uses preposto for a provost or parish priest.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Christianity) A provost: a cleric with a dignity in a chapter or collegiate church, or a parish priest with precedence over others; prevosto.^{[7][14][5][4]}
2. A person in charge of an office or body; a superintendent.^[14][7][4]
3. (obsolete) The governor of a city or province.^[14][4][12]

Adjective

1. Placed in charge (of something), with a: il tecnico preposto all'impianto.^[4][3][15]
2. Placed before something else.^[4][15][2]

Word family

• preposteria
• prepostura

Related words

• prevosto
• proposto
• preposito
• Latin praepositus

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 195
12. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3066
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 196
14. ^ a b c d De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli