Etymologically
Log in

spostare

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 06:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /sposˈta.re/[1]

Forms

spostare (first-person singular present spòsto, first-person singular past historic spostài, past participle spostàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is a verb formed from Italian s- + posto (“place”) + -are, with s- in its sense of removal: “to put out of place”.[2][3][4][5][1] GDLI traces the prefix to Latin ex-, which expresses moving away.[6] The noun posto comes from Latin positus (“placed”), the past participle of pōnō (“to put”).[7][1]

Wikizionario also mentions an explanation from moving an animal from stall, a posta, of the stable to another.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from Vincenzo Galilei in 1584, with the sense “to move someone or something from its place”.[2][3] Tommaseo quotes Galilei's dialogue on the lute, Fronimo, for the musical sense “to transpose”, of pieces that could be played senz'averle a spostare (“without having to transpose them”).[8]

Semantic evolution

Anton Maria Salvini has the noun spostamento before 1728, and the reflexive “to move from one's place” is recorded in Milan in 1820.[2] Tommaseo–Bellini (1873) gives a figurative sense “to upset, to unsettle financially”, which Zingarelli now marks as disused.[2][9] Tommaseo also speaks of shifting an accent, as in umíle for umile.[8]

The past participle spostato became a noun in 1876 for a misfit, someone out of place in society;[2] Rigutini in 1886 accepted it though it matched French déplacé, and Panzini in 1905 called it typical of the age.[2] Modern Italian also uses the verb for moving a date or appointment, for transferring an employee, and in chemistry for shifting an equilibrium.[4][10][11]

Timeline

  • 1584 – Vincenzo Galilei uses spostare.[2][3]
  • Before 1728 – Anton Maria Salvini uses spostamento.[2]
  • 1820 – The reflexive spostarsi is recorded in Milan.[2]
  • 1873 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “to unsettle, to damage”.[2]
  • 1876 – Spostato “misfit” is first recorded.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To move, shift something from its place: Aiutami a spostare il divano verso la finestra.[4][10][11][1]
  2. To move a person aside: Mi ha spostato con una spallata.[4][10]
  3. To transfer to another place or office: L'hanno spostato nella sede di Torino.[4][10][11][1]
  4. To put off or bring forward in time, reschedule: Possiamo spostare la cena a venerdì?[4][10][11][1]
  5. (figurative) To change (plans, a situation).[4][12][13]
  6. (figurative) To turn (attention, a discussion) to something else.[4][13]
  7. (chemistry) To shift the equilibrium of a system.[4][10]
  8. (music, dated) To transpose.[9][8]
  9. (reflexive, spostarsi) To move, change position or place: Spostati un po', non vedo lo schermo.[11][9][12]

Word family

  • spostamento
  • spostato
  • spostabile

Usage notes

Non spostarsi di un passo is to stay put, or figuratively to refuse to budge from one's position.[9][12]

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 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 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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  7. ^ a b Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli