Etymologically
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provare

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Pronunciation

  • /proˈva.re/[1]

Forms

provare (first-person singular present pròvo, first-person singular past historic provài, past participle provàto, auxiliary avére)[1] Older Italian also conjugated the stressed forms with the Tuscan diphthong, io pruovo.[2][3][4] The infinitive pruovare and the noun pruova appear in Dante and Cavalca.[5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin probō (“to approve, test, prove”), a verb formed from the adjective probus (“good, upright”), so that it first meant “to find good, to approve”.[7][8][9][2] The same verb is French prouver, Occitan proar, Catalan proar, Spanish probar and Portuguese provar.[8][10][11]

De Vaan traces the Latin adjective to Proto-Italic *profo- (“favourable”), which he reconstructs as Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰuH-o-, a compound of the preverb ⟨*pro-⟩ “forward” with the root of “to be, grow”;[12] Oscan and Umbrian have related forms, and Sanskrit प्रभु (prabhú, “excelling”) is built on the same elements.[12]

The noun prova “test, proof” is formed from the verb with no suffix.[7] provetta “test tube” was modelled on French éprouvette.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Guido Faba, who died before 1243, in the sense “to find out by one or more trials the qualities of a thing or the abilities of a person”.[7][8] GDLI quotes him on testing a gem: “Ago che la gemma se debia provare e mostrare la sua clarità per esperienzia de verità” (that the gem should be tested and show its clearness by true experience).[13]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to show by proofs that a fact is true” is recorded before 1292 in Bono Giamboni, and “to put to the test” at the end of the 13th century in the Italian version of Vegetius, where the reflexive provarsi also means “to train oneself”.[7] The noun prova is as old as the verb: it is found in the 13th century for a trial and for an ordeal, before 1294 in Brunetto Latini for a piece of evidence, in 1561 for the proof of a calculation, and in 1804 for a rehearsal;[7] prova generale “dress rehearsal” is recorded in 1841.[7]

The colloquial provarci means to have a go, and also to make a pass at someone.[4][14][15] Later derivatives include provino (1835 for a distiller's test glass, 1871 for a dance rehearsal, now a screen test) and provetta “test tube” (1917–1927).[7] Prati explains the cheese names provatura (16th century) and provola as cheeses that were first a “trial” of the curd, while Meyer-Lübke left their meaning unexplained.[6][10] Esperanto borrowed the verb as provi.[1]

Timeline

  • Before 1243 – Guido Faba uses provare for testing the qualities of something.[7]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for proving the truth of a fact.[7]
  • Late 13th century – The Italian Vegetius has “to put to the test” and reflexive “to train oneself”.[7]
  • 1561 – Prova is used for the proof of a calculation.[7]
  • 1804 – Prova “rehearsal” is recorded by D'Alberti.[7]
  • 1841 – Prova generale “dress rehearsal” is recorded.[7]
  • 1917–1927 – Provetta “test tube” is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To test or try out a thing to see its qualities or whether it works; also to try on clothes or shoes, to taste a food, or to take someone on trial: Prima di comprarla, prova la bicicletta.[9][2][3]
  2. To attempt, to try to do something (with a and the infinitive): Ho provato a chiamarti due volte.[9][14][1]
  3. To experience something oneself; to feel a sensation or emotion: Non ha mai provato la paura.[9][2][3]
  4. To put someone to a hard test; to wear out, weaken: Il viaggio l'ha molto provato.[9][4][15]
  5. To prove, to show with evidence that something is true: Non puoi provare quello che dici.[9][15][1]
  6. (theatre) To rehearse a show, scene or piece of music, also without an object.[9][14][15]
  7. (colloquial, provarci) To have a go; to make a pass at someone.[4][14][15]

Word family

  • prova
  • provato
  • provetta
  • provino
  • provatura
  • provabile
  • comprovare
  • riprovare
  • riprova
  • probo
  • approvare
  • probante
  • probatorio
  • Latin probus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 808
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  12. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 772
  14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  15. ^ a b c d e Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli