resistere

Forms

resistere (first-person singular present resìsto, first-person singular past historic resistétti or (traditional) resistètti or resistéi, past participle resistìto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin resistō (“to stop; to stand firm, resist”), a learned word, formed from re- and sistō (“to cause to stand; to stop”).^[2][3][4][5] DELI, GRADIT and the GDLI take the prefix as intensive, Wiktionary as “back”.^[2][4][6][1] The same Latin verb gave French résister (1350) and Spanish resistir.^[5][3]

Latin “sistō” is a reduplicated present of the root of stō (“to stand”): Proto-Italic *sistō, from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti, from *steh₂- (“to stand”), like Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to make stand”).^[7][1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the 13th-century Storie de Troia et de Roma: “Li Troiani non porraco resistere contra de li Greci” (“the Trojans could not hold out against the Greeks”), in the sense of standing firm against a force without being overcome.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

From holding out the verb widened to “to oppose” (Dante, 1304–1308) and to “to last without being harmed” (Boccaccio, before 1375).^[2] The participle resistente is recorded about 1336 in Boccaccio, and resistenza, from Late Latin resistentia (Augustine, before 430), before 1348 in Giovanni Villani.^[2][3]

The noun spread into the vocabulary of the sciences: in physics a force opposed to motion (before 1600, Giordano Bruno), electrical resistance (1884), probably modelled on English resistance.^[2] Resistenza in the political and military sense is a calque of French résistance, first used in France for the movement against the Vichy government and the German occupation.^[2] resistore (1941) is an adaptation of English resistor.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Before 430 – Augustine uses Late Latin resistentia.^[2]
• 13th century – First record, in the Storie de Troia et de Roma.^[2][6]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “to oppose”.^[2]
• c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses resistente.^[2]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses resistenza.^[2]
• 1350 – French résister is recorded.^[5]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses it for “to last without harm”.^[2]
• 1884 – Resistenza elettrica appears in a book title.^[2]
• 1941 – Resistore is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To resist a force or an attack, to hold out: La guarnigione resistette per tre settimane all'assedio.^[4][8][9]
2. To oppose someone's will, demands or pressure; not to give in to someone's charm.^[4][8][9]
3. To hold back an impulse or desire: Non sono riuscito a resistere a un'altra fetta di torta.^[4][8]
4. To endure a hard or unpleasant situation: Con questo caldo non si resiste.^[4][9]
5. Of things, to withstand a physical force or agent: Queste piastrelle resistono al gelo.^[4][9]
6. To last over time without losing value.^[9][4]
7. (sports) To hold off the attack of the opposing team.^[4]

Word family

• resistente
• resistenza
• resistività
• resistore
• resistibile

Related words

• esistere
• stare
• Latin resistō
• French résister

Usage notes

The past historic has both resistei and resistetti; the auxiliary is avere.^[8][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3232
6. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse