sostare

Forms

sostare (first-person singular present sòsto, first-person singular past historic sostài, past participle sostàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin substāre (“to stand firm, hold out”).^[2][3][4][1] That verb is formed from Latin sub- (“under”) + stō (“to stand”).^[2][5][6][7] The noun sosta is a back-formation from the verb.^[2]

The same verb is Occitan sostar and Portuguese sustar “to stop, hold back”.^[3][8][9] In the south Neapolitan sustare has come to mean “to pester”, and in Venetian sustar means “to complain”.^[8][9] Derived nouns name shelters and stores in the north: suosta is an alpine stable in the Engadine, and Lombard sosta a store for wood or bricks.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Brunetto Latini's Tesoretto (before 1274), where the narrator asks some people che sostasser la via / per dirmi il convenente / del luogo e della gente (“to halt their journey to tell me about the place and the people”).^[10][11] The verb is transitive there, “to interrupt”.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the verb for standing on a foundation, for interrupting something or giving respite to it, and pronominally for halting.^[10] Dante has both: the shades cry Sòstati tu (“Stop, you”), and in the Purgatorio Sosta un poco per me tua maggior cura (“Pause your greater task a little for me”).^[11][6]

The noun sosta is recorded about 1336 in Boccaccio for a pause, and before 1375 for a halt.^[2] With motor traffic the verb came to be used of vehicles standing or parked, and divieto di sosta “no parking” is recorded in 1956.^[4][2]

Timeline

• Before 1274 – Brunetto Latini's Tesoretto has sostasser.^[10]
• c. 1336 – Boccaccio uses the noun sosta for a pause.^[2]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses sosta for a halt.^[2]
• 1956 – Divieto di sosta is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To stop or halt for a while somewhere, especially on a journey: sostammo a Bologna per la notte.^{[4][12][5][13]}
2. Of a vehicle or driver, to stand or park: davanti all'ospedale non si può sostare.^[4][12][5]
3. To pause in an activity: sostare un attimo dai compiti.^[4][12][13]
4. (figurative) To dwell on something, stop to reflect: sostare su un verso di Petrarca.^[4][12][14]
5. (archaic, transitive) To suspend, interrupt.^[4][12][13]

Word family

• sosta

Related words

• stare
• Latin substo

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
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 Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3563
9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana