Etymologically
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sopravvissuto

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Pronunciation

  • /so.prav.visˈsu.to/[1]

Forms

sopravvissuto m (plural sopravvissuti, feminine sopravvissuta)[1] Old variants were sopravvisso, sorvissuto and sopravvivuto.[2]

Etymology

It is the past participle of sopravvivere “to survive”, used as an adjective and a noun.[3][4][5][6] Wiktionary analyses it as from Italian sopra- + vissuto.[1]

The verb continues Late Latin supravīvere, a compound of suprā (“above”) and vīvō (“to live”), which took the place of the earlier supervīvere.[3] Nocentini notes that its prefix was remade on Italian sopra-.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the third edition of the Crusca dictionary (1691), for one who is still alive after the death of others; the fourth edition quotes it from a book of sermons that DELI could not check.[3] Tommaseo quotes that text: a woman deeply grieved at the news that her husband had not survived.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb sopravvivere is older, recorded before 1342 in Domenico Cavalca, for living on after others or escaping a disaster.[3] The participle soon described those who escaped a shipwreck, an earthquake or a massacre, the sense that dominates today.[7][5][8]

A figurative, scornful sense appeared in the 20th century: Panzini's dictionary of 1942 says that the young people of the 1900s called sopravvissuti those who, because of their age, still thought, spoke and wrote in the old way.[3][6] Modern dictionaries keep this sense for a person attached to outdated ideas and habits.[7][5][9]

Timeline

  • Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses the verb sopravvivere.[3]
  • 1691 – The Crusca dictionary records sopravvissuto.[3]
  • 17th century – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the adjective and noun to this century.[4][5]
  • 1942 – Panzini records the scornful sense “person of outdated ideas”.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A survivor: one who has escaped a disaster or an accident, or who is still alive after others have died: Dopo la valanga i soccorritori cercarono altri sopravvissuti.[7][5][8]
  2. (figurative, ironic) A person who keeps ideas and habits of a past age.[7][5][6]

Adjective

  1. Still alive after the death of others, or after a danger of death, often followed by a: l'unico soldato sopravvissuto alla battaglia.[7][5][9]
  2. (figurative) Behind the times, with outdated ideas.[7][9]

Usage notes

As a verb form it is the past participle of sopravvivere, with the auxiliary essere: è sopravvissuto all'incidente.[7][9] The synonym superstite is more formal.[6][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli