presto

Forms

presto (feminine presta, masculine plural presti, feminine plural preste, superlative prestissimo)^[1]

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Late Latin praestus (“ready”), a Vulgar Latin *praestus formed from the classical adverb Latin praestō (“at hand, available”), used in the phrase ⟨praesto esse⟩ “to be ready, to be at someone's disposal”.^[2][1][3][4] The same word is Old French prest (modern French prêt), Occitan prest, Catalan prest, Spanish presto, Portuguese presto and Friulian prest.^[2][5] DEI notes that the dialects differ in the quality of the stressed vowel.^[6]

DELI and DEI give the Latin adverb as the etymon of the adverb “soon, quickly”.^[7][6] In 1993, after a critical review of the sources, Arrigo Castellani concluded that it is not a direct continuation of the Latin adverb but the adjective used as an adverb, and DELI and Nocentini report his view.^[7][2] Castellani found that the adverb came into general use late, replacing tosto, which prevailed in the 13th and 14th centuries; his oldest example of the sense “soon” is from 1388, in the letters of Florence's Dieci to its ambassadors.^[7]

The Latin adverb is of uncertain origin.^[7][8] It begins with prae- (“before”), but the ending is obscure.^[9] Wiktionary reports two analyses of the related verb praestōlor (“to wait for”), both with a second element from Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to place”).^[1] Devoto saw in it an old phrase meaning “before the hand”.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record of the adverb, in the sense “in a short while, soon”, is in the poet Chiaro Davanzati in the 13th century.^[7][8] The adjective “quick, prompt” is in a laud from Urbino of about 1300, and Dante writes of “una lonza leggiera e presta molto” (a leopard, light and very quick).^[7][3][11]

Semantic evolution

The sense “quickly, in a hurry” is first recorded in Boccaccio in 1353, and “early, ahead of time” only in a collection of Tuscan proverbs of 1853.^[7] The adjective “ready, prepared” is literary: Boccaccio has the abbot told that the meal era presto, was ready.^[11][4] The derivative prestezza “readiness, speed” is recorded before 1292 in Bono Giamboni.^[7]

As a direction in music, presto marks a very fast tempo, faster than allegro and slower than prestissimo.^[12][3] In that sense it went into German in 1619, into English in the 1680s (Purcell) and into French in 1750.^[12][13] English had already taken presto “quickly” in the 1590s from the patter of conjurers, and the exclamation hey presto dates from the 19th century.^[13][12] French preste “nimble” was borrowed in the 15th century.^[12]

Timeline

• 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses presto “soon”.^[7]
• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses prestezza.^[7]
• C. 1300 – The adjective “quick” appears in a laud from Urbino.^[7]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses presto “quickly”.^[7]
• 1388 – The oldest example of presto “soon” found by Castellani, in Florentine diplomatic letters.^[7]
• 1590s – English borrows presto from conjurers' patter.^[13]
• 1619 – German borrows the musical term.^[12]
• 1680s – Purcell uses presto in English as a tempo marking.^[13]
• 1853 – A collection of Tuscan proverbs has presto “early”.^[7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. soon, in a short time: Torneremo presto a trovarvi.^[3][4][1]
2. quickly, in a hurry: Vieni presto, il treno sta per partire!^[3][4][1]
3. early, before the expected time or at an early hour: Sabato ci alziamo presto per partire.^[3][1]
4. (music) At a very fast tempo.^[3][12][1]

Adjective

1. (literary) ready, prepared.^[11][3][1]
2. (literary) Quick, nimble.^[11][3][1]

Word family

• prestezza
• prestamente
• prestissimo

Related words

• apprestare
• tosto
• Latin praestō
• French prêt

Usage notes

Set phrases include a presto “see you soon”, al più presto “as soon as possible” and presto o tardi “sooner or later”, and the proverb presto e bene raro avviene, “quick and good rarely go together”.^[4][1] GRADIT lists two obsolete homographs: presto “loan”, a noun formed from prestare, kept in the name of the old Florentine Monte del Presto (a pawnbroking office), and presto “priest”, from Old French prestre, as in Ariosto's name for Prester John, “Presto o Preteianni”.^[14][11][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3072
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ 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, 273
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 344
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
13. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
15. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 278