Etymologically
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pronto

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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