avere Italian · revision 37449

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1065, Umbrian confession formula of Norcia|origins=la habeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aˈve.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''avere''' (first-person singular present (with syntactic gemination after the verb) hò, first-person singular past historic èbbi or ébbi, past participle avùto, first-person singular future avrò, first-person singular subjunctive àbbia, second-person singular imperative àbbi, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian had the present forms [[m|roa-oit|aggio]], [[m|roa-oit|aio]] and [[m|roa-oit|abbo]] for ''ho'', [[m|roa-oit|ave]] for ''ha'' and [[m|roa-oit|avemo]] for ''abbiamo''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) An early Florentine variant of the infinitive is [[roa-oit|avire]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|habeō|t=to have, hold]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The verb is found in every Romance language: [[fr|avoir]], [[oc|aver]], [[ca|aver]], [[es|haber]], [[pt|haver]], [[sc|àere]], [[ro|avea]] and Dalmatian [[m|dlm|avar]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin verb has its closest relatives in Italic and Celtic, such as the Umbrian imperative [[m|xum|habetu|t=let him hold]] and [[sga|gaibid|t=takes]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini notes that Irish keeps the older sense “take”, and that the general sense “have” is the result of the bleaching of more specific senses such as “take, hold, keep”.^(Nocentini 2010) The root is reconstructed as [[ine-pro|*gʰeh₁bʰ-|t=to grab, take]],^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) but de Vaan points out that the Italic and Celtic forms with “-b-” are hard to reconcile with it, and that a loanword from outside Indo-European is also possible.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Despite the likeness in form and meaning, it is not related to English [[m|en|have]], which corresponds to [[la|capiō|t=to take]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in an Umbrian confession formula from Norcia dated 1065.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) A Florentine text of 1211 has the form ''avire'',^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) and early in the 13th century the Sicilian poet Rinaldo d'Aquino uses ''avere'' for “to possess, to hold”.^(DELI 1999) The noun, meaning “property, wealth”, is recorded in 1219 in the Breve di Montieri.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the verb already expressed every kind of possession: goods, bodily features, moral and intellectual qualities, an office or a power, relatives and dependants, and a person's age; it also meant “to get hold of”, as in winning a battle, capturing an enemy or conquering a town.^(TLIO) An intransitive use meaning “there is, there are”, recorded in the 13th century (Malispini), survived only in Tuscan and literary usage.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary) As an auxiliary it forms the compound tenses of transitive verbs and of many intransitive ones (''ho visto'', ''ho dormito'').^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The noun was common in early prose and verse for a person's wealth: Brunetto Latini describes a man “molto ricco d'avere” (very rich in possessions), and Dante's tyrants in Inferno 12 are those “che dier nel sangue e nell'aver di piglio” (who laid hands on blood and property).^(GDLI) In bookkeeping ''avere'' came to mean the credit side of an account, opposed to ''dare'', from 1583;^(DIFIT) German [[m|de|Haben]] in this sense is a semantic calque of the Italian word.^(DIFIT)

+

+ In colloquial Italian the verb is often joined with an unstressed ''ci'' (''ci ho'', “I've got”), a use already found in Firenzuola: «O che faccenda ci ho io adesso…?» (“What business have I got now…?”).^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1065 – The verb appears in an Umbrian confession formula from Norcia.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1211 – The Florentine form ''avire'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1219 – The noun ''avere'' “property” appears in the Breve di Montieri.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Early 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses ''avere'' for “to possess, hold”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – The intransitive sense “there is” is recorded in Malispini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1583 – ''Avere'' is recorded in the accounting sense “credit”.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|own]], [[m|en|possess]] material goods: ''avere due appartamenti in città''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(absolute)'' To be wealthy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To have a physical, moral or intellectual quality: ''ha i capelli ricci e un carattere mite''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To feel a sensation or emotion: ''ho sonno'', ''aveva fame''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To be a given [[m|en|age]]: ''mia nonna ha novant'anni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To have on, [[m|en|wear]]: ''oggi ha la giacca blu''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To get, [[m|en|receive]]: ''ha avuto un premio per il suo romanzo''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(auxiliary)'' Forms the compound tenses of transitive verbs and of many intransitive ones: ''ho letto il giornale''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(impersonal, obsolete, literary or Tuscan)'' There to be.^(Wiktionary)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(usually in the plural)'' [[m|en|property]], [[m|en|belongings]], wealth: ''ha lasciato tutti i suoi averi ai nipoti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A sum owed to one, a [[m|en|credit]]: ''il dare e l'avere'', debts and credits, and figuratively the give and take of a relationship.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(accounting)'' The credit side of an account.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[riavere]]

+ * [[avercela]]

+ * [[avente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|habeō]]

+ * [[fr|avoir]]

+ * [[es|haber]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The forms ''ho'', ''hai'', ''ha'' and ''hanno'' are written with an ''h'' that is not pronounced; the older spellings ''ò'', ''ài'', ''à'' and ''ànno'' are now very rare.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020) The present forms ''ho'' and ''ha'' cause the doubling of the consonant that follows (raddoppiamento sintattico).^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Fixed expressions include the proverb ''chi più ha più vuole'' (the more one has, the more one wants)^(Zingarelli 2010) and ''e chi più ne ha più ne metta'', “and so on”, at the end of a list.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}