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pronto

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word pronto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1260–1261, Brunetto Latini
Borrowed from
Latin promptus
Ultimate origin
Latin emō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin promptus
Italian pronto
From the same root
Latin prompte ← promptus

Pronunciation

Forms

pronto (feminine pronta, masculine plural pronti, feminine plural pronte, superlative prontissimo)[1] Old forms include prompto and prunto, the latter in Pisa, Arezzo and Umbria.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin promptus (“ready, at hand”), the past participle of prōmō (“to bring out”), from prō (“forward”) and emō (“to take; to buy”).[4][5][6] The literal meaning was “brought out and set before the eyes”, hence “visible, at hand, ready”.[5][7] Nocentini classes it as a borrowing from Latin, and DEI as a semi-learned word of Italy and the western Romance languages.[5][3] It matches French prompt and Spanish pronto.[5][8] Latin emō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to take”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (about 1260–1261).[2] DELI's earliest dated sense is “quick, not delaying” in Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294.[4]

Semantic evolution

Dante uses the word for things ready to be used (1304–1308) and for a person ready to do something.[4] Old Italian also had the senses “willing”, “trained”, “inclined to”, and “evident”, the last close to the Latin.[2] The phrase in pronto “at hand” renders Latin in promptu (habere).[9] In the 16th century Vasari used it of painting for “free, unconstrained”.[3] From the 20th century pronto? is the word for answering the telephone.[3][6]

As a term of music it passed into French (1703) and English (1724).[10] Pronta cassa “cash on delivery” recalls English ready money.[4] Modern compounds include pronto soccorso “casualty department” and pronto intervento “emergency service”.[6][11]

Timeline

  • About 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses pronto in the Rettorica.[2]
  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for “quick”.[4]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it of things ready for use.[4]
  • 1354 – Prontamente is recorded in Iacopo Passavanti.[4]
  • 1553 – Prontuario “handbook” appears in a book title.[4]
  • 1724 – English pronto is recorded as a musical term.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a thing, ready, prepared for immediate use: La cena è pronta.[6][12][1]
  2. Of a person, ready or prepared to do something: Siete pronti per partire?[6][12]
  3. Willing, disposed, about to do something: Era pronto a tutto pur di vincere.[6][13][1]
  4. Inclined by nature to an attitude: pronto all'ira.[6][14]
  5. Quick, prompt, immediate: una pronta guarigione; of the mind, quick and lively.[6][13]

Interjection

  1. (telephony) hello, said when answering the telephone.[6][1]

Word family

  • prontamente
  • prontezza
  • prontuario
  • approntare
  • prontitudine

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3104
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 610
  10. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  12. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Pronto.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/pronto. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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