presente

Forms

presente m or f by sense (plural presenti, superlative presentissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin praesēns (“present, at hand”), though Wiktionary treats it as inherited.^[2][3][1] The Latin word is the participle of praesum (“to be at the head of”), from prae- (“before”) and sum (“to be”), but its meaning is independent of that verb.^[3] Its form was modelled on absēns (“absent”).^[2][4][5] The verb “to be” goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁es-.^[6] The same word is French présent and Spanish presente.^[3]

The sense “gift” has a separate history in the dictionaries.^[7][8][4] Körting explains that the Romance noun took this meaning by leaning on the verb praesentō (“to present”), and DEI, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti give it an entry of its own from Old French present, a noun formed from presenter (“to offer”).^[9][7][8][4] DELI keeps one word but notes that this use, like the phrases for “presence of mind” and “present arms”, follows French.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's earliest record is the noun “gift” in Uguccione da Lodi at the beginning of the 13th century.^[2] The adjective appears in a Venetian document of 1253, in the formula of a notary who signs sianto me presente, “I being present”.^[2][10][11]

Semantic evolution

The temporal sense “now going on, current” is recorded in the second half of the 13th century, and Dante used the noun for the present age and for the present tense of the verb.^[2] Jacopone da Todi even used it as an adverb, “now”.^[7] Boccaccio used i presenti for those present and also for the living, and, from the 16th century la presente meant “this letter” in correspondence.^[2][7]

The gift sense was well established in Old Italian: in the Decameron a father thanks the sender of “so great a presente”, and the commentator Francesco da Buti defined it as giving a thing as a mark of honour.^[12] Today it is a formal word for a gift.^[4][8] In current use the adjective also serves to answer a roll call (presente!) and forms the phrases avere presente “to remember”, tenere presente “to bear in mind” and fare presente “to point out”.^[10][13][5]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Uguccione da Lodi uses presente for a gift.^[2]
• 1253 – The adjective appears in a Venetian document.^[2][10]
• Second half of the 13th century – The sense “current” appears in a paraphrase of the Ten Commandments.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for the present tense.^[2]
• Before 1503 – Giovanni Pontano uses la presente for “this letter”.^[2]
• 1655 – Presenza di spirito “presence of mind” is recorded, after French.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. present, being in the place referred to; attending: Tutti i soci erano presenti all'assemblea.^[10][8][4]
2. (formal) This, the one in hand: il presente regolamento.^[10][4][5]
3. Current, of the present time: la crisi presente.^[10][4][13]
4. Found, occurring in something: Nel campione sono presenti tracce di ferro.^[10][8]
5. Clear in the mind or memory.^[10][5]

Noun

1. The present time.^[10][4][1]
2. (grammar) The present tense.^[4][1]
3. A person who is present, i presenti “those present”.^[4][1]
4. (formal) A gift.^{[8][4][14][1]}
5. (feminine, la presente) This letter, in correspondence.^[10][8]

Word family

• presentabile
• presentare
• presentatore
• presentazione
• presenza
• presenziare
• compresente
• presentemente
• presentismo

Related words

• assente
• Latin praesens
• French présent

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 k Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3069
8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 226
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli