Etymologically
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seguito

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈse.ɡwi.to/[1]

Forms

seguito m (plural seguiti)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from seguitare (“to continue, follow”), formed with no suffix.[2][3][4][1] Devoto and Oli derive it from seguire instead.[5] That verb is itself of unclear formation: DELI and Nocentini take it from the past participle of the other verb, stressed ⟨seguìto⟩, while Wiktionary derives it from a frequentative Vulgar Latin *sequitāre, from Latin sequor (“to follow”).[2][3][1]

The Italian noun was taken into Medieval Latin sequitus, from which come Spanish séquito and Portuguese séquito.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the noun before 1348, and DELI's first record of the sense “support, following” is in Giovanni Villani's chronicle, before 1348.[4][2] DELI dates the sense “the people who accompany an important person” to Boccaccio in 1353.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “continuation” is first recorded in Marin Sanudo, before 1536, and “a series, string of events” in Giambattista Vico, before 1744.[2] The old form sequito appears in the 14th-century Cronica of the Anonimo romano, for a following of men.[6]

Several phrases date from the 19th century: di seguito “without a break” in a Milanese paper of 1814 and cane da seguito, a hound used to track game, in Tommaseo's dictionary of 1865;[2] in seguito “later” is found in the 15th century.[2] Wiktionary records an adjective seguito “popular, followed”, stressed like the participle.[1]

Timeline

  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses seguito for “following, support”.[2][4]
  • 1353 – Boccaccio uses it for a retinue.[2]
  • 15th century – In seguito “later” is recorded.[2]
  • Before 1536 – Marin Sanudo has the sense “continuation”.[2]
  • Before 1744 – Giambattista Vico uses it for a train of events.[2]
  • 1814 – Di seguito “without a break” is recorded.[2]
  • 1865 – Cane da seguito “hound” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. retinue, entourage: the people who accompany an important person: Il ministro arrivò con tutto il suo seguito.[4][5][7]
  2. The followers of a teacher, doctrine or party; support, favour: Una proposta che ha trovato poco seguito.[4][5][7]
  3. A series, string of events: un seguito di contrattempi.[4][5][7]
  4. The continuation or rest of a story; a sequel: Il seguito lo racconto domani.[4][5][1]
  5. A consequence, outcome: La lite non ebbe seguito.[4][5]
  6. (hunting) Pursuit of game.[4][7]

Word family

  • seguitamente

Usage notes

The noun is stressed on the first syllable, séguito;[4][8][6] seguìto, stressed on the second, is the past participle of seguire, also used as a noun for “what happened”.[4][8][6] Common phrases are di seguito “in a row, below”, in seguito “later”, in seguito a and a seguito di “following, as a result of”, al seguito “in the company of” and fare seguito “to follow”.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET