provvedere

Forms

provvedere (first-person singular present provvédo, first-person singular past historic provvìdi, past participle provvedùto or (rare in a verbal sense) provvìsto, auxiliary avére)^[1] Older forms include Old Italian provedere, Old Italian providere and Old Italian provedire.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin prōvideō (“to see ahead; to provide for”), formed from Latin prō- (“forward”) + videō (“to see”).^[4][5][6][7] The Latin verb meant “to see in advance, foresee” and also “to take steps in advance, see to”.^[8] The same verb is French pourvoir, Occitan provezer, Spanish proveer and Portuguese prover.^[5][9] The Latin verb videō goes back to Proto-Italic *wid-ē- and to Proto-Indo-European *uid-eh₁- (“to see”).^[10]

Latin derivatives of the verb reached Italian as learned words: provvidenza from providentia, provvido from providus.^[4][5] DELI takes provvidenziale and provvisorio from French providentiel and provisoire, while Nocentini derives the latter from Medieval Latin provisorius (“temporary”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the first half of the 13th century, in a poem of Mostacci of the Sicilian school, in the intransitive sense “to act with foresight, arranging what a need requires”.^[4][6] The poet asks for mercy so that the lady “may provide for it” (ci provegia) and not let her servant perish.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The transitive sense “to supply, furnish” appears in Chiaro Davanzati in the 13th century, and the reflexive provvedersi “to provide oneself” at the end of the century in the Novellino.^[4] The Novellino also uses the verb in its Latin sense “to foresee”, now obsolete.^[11][6] Guicciardini, before 1540, has it for “to procure”.^[4]

Derivatives soon followed: provvedimento, a measure or remedy (before 1276), and provveditore, from 1301 the title of an official in charge of supplies or administration;^[4] provveditore agli studi was a schools official in Tuscany by 1846.^[4] The noun provvista, a supply or store, dates from the 17th century.^[4][5]

Today the verb is mostly intransitive with a, “to see to, take care of”, and the proverb Dio vede e provvede says that God helps in every need.^[6][12]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – Mostacci uses the verb intransitively.^[4]
• 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses it transitively, “to supply”.^[4]
• Before 1276 – Provvedimento is recorded, in Pannuccio del Bagno.^[4]
• Late 13th century – The reflexive provvedersi appears in the Novellino.^[4]
• 1301 – Provveditore is an official's title in a statute.^[4]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini uses it for “to procure”.^[4]
• 1797 – Provvista “supplies” appears in Venetian municipal records.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, with a) To see to, take care of, provide for a need: provvedere alle spese della casa.^{[6][13][7][1]}
2. (intransitive, absolute) To take the necessary measures, to act.^[6][14][1]
3. (transitive) To supply, furnish (with di): provvedere la squadra di nuove divise.^{[6][13][11][1]}
4. (transitive) To procure, get ready.^[6][14][12]
5. (transitive, obsolete) To foresee, predict.^[6][12][14]
6. (reflexive, provvedersi) To equip or provide oneself (with di).^[13][14][12]

Word family

• provvedimento
• provveditore
• provveditorato
• provvista
• provvisto
• sprovvisto
• sprovvedere
• sprovveduto

Related words

• provvidenza
• provvido
• provvigione
• provvisorio
• vedere
• provvidenziale
• Latin prōvideō
• French pourvoir

Usage notes

The verb is conjugated like vedere, except for the regular future and conditional (provvederò, provvederei).^[12][7] The past participle is provveduto;^[12][1] provvisto is rare in verbal use and serves mainly as an adjective.^[12][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3123
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 e 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. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli