studente

Forms

studente m (plural studenti, feminine studentessa)^[1] An older form is Old Italian studiente, used by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger and now rustic.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin studentem (“one devoting himself; studying”), the present participle of studeō (“to strive after; to apply oneself to learning”).^[4][5][6][1] DEI calls it a word of the medieval schools.^[2] The sense “to study” of the Latin verb belongs mainly to Late and Medieval Latin.^[1]

De Vaan explains studeō as a stative verb to the root Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- (“to thrust, hit”), “to be thrusting” and so “to strive after”, the root of tundō (“to beat”).^[7][1][8] The word spread through the European languages: French étudiant and Spanish estudiante are its counterparts.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Franco Sacchetti's Trecentonovelle (before 1400), for one enrolled in a course of study;^[4][6] GRADIT gives the same date.^[4][6] The GDLI quotes the passage: “Il giovane studente si pose a sedere di fuori su uno deschetto” (“The young student sat down outside on a little bench”).^[3]

Semantic evolution

Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word only to the 16th century, and Zingarelli to before 1328.^[5][9][10] In older texts it meant anyone who studies; today it names someone enrolled in a secondary school or a university.^[3][6][11]

The adjective studentesco is recorded in 1896 and in Zingarelli's dictionary of 1922;^[5][4][2] DEI says it was formed on the model of libresco.^[5][4][2] Casa dello studente is a university hall of residence.^[6][10]

Timeline

• Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses studente.^[4]
• 16th century – Nocentini's date for the word.^[5]
• 1883 – Studentato and studentesca are recorded.^[2]
• 1896 – Studentesco is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person enrolled in a secondary school or a university; a student: uno studente di ingegneria al primo anno.^[6][9][11]
2. (dated) Anyone who studies.^[3]

Word family

• studentesco
• studentato
• studentessa

Related words

• studiare
• studio
• Latin studeo

Usage notes

The feminine is studentessa.^[9][10][1] Diminutives and pejoratives include studentello, studentino and studentaccio.^[10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3663
3. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 417
4. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 430
9. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana