vivere Italian · revision 37575

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo|origins=ine-pro *gʷíh₃weti}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvi.ve.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vivere''' (first-person singular present vìvo, first-person singular past historic vìssi, past participle vissùto, first-person singular future vivrò, auxiliary avére or (now less common, traditional, only in some meanings) èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms of the past participle are ''vivuto'' and ''visso'', and of the past historic ''vivetti'' and ''vivei''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|vīvō|t=to live]], from [[itc-pro|*gʷīwō]], from [[ine-pro|*gʷíh₃weti|t=to live, be alive]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) The verb is pan-Romance: [[fr|vivre]], [[oc|viure]], [[ca|viure]], [[es|vivir]], [[pt|viver]] and [[sc|biere]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Its Indo-European relatives include [[grc|βίος|tr=bíos|t=life]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ De Vaan treats the adjective [[m|la|vīvus|t=alive]] and the verb as both inherited; the perfect [[m|la|vīxī]] and the stem of [[m|la|vīctus|t=sustenance]] are analogical.^(de Vaan 2008) DELI groups the many Latin derivatives under these two stems; through [[m|la|vīta|t=life]], [[m|la|vīvārium|t=fish pond]] and the noun for sustenance they gave Italian [[vita]], [[vivaio]] and [[vitto]].^(DELI 1999) The participle [[vissuto]] is formed on the stem of the past historic.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, in the sense “to spend one's life” in a time, place or condition.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308) defines the word: ''Vivere è l’essere delli viventi'', “Living is the being of living things”.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian had the infinitive used as a noun, ''il vivere'' “life” and “way of life”, by the 14th century, and ''vivere'' for what one needs to live in Sacchetti; the plural [[viveri]] “provisions” followed.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Boccaccio uses ''vivere'' for living as social convention requires, and Tasso in 1581 for enjoying life to the full.^(DELI 1999) Dante already uses it figuratively for “to last”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|21, 950)

+

+ The transitive use, “to live through, experience”, is recorded from Della Casa before 1556.^(DELI 1999) ''Vissuto'' “rich in experience” is old (Sacchetti), but Panzini in 1905 called its use for a literary work drawn from life a neologism after [[fr|vécu]].^(DELI 1999) ''Stare sul chi vive'', “to be on the alert”, translates [[fr|être sur le qui-vive]] (1690); DELI is not convinced by the usual explanation from a sentry's challenge.^(DELI 1999) The subjunctive ''viva!'' became a cry of acclaim in Giovanni Villani, and ''evviva'' grew from ''e viva''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses ''vivere'' for “to spend one's life”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses it figuratively, “to last”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante's ''Convivio'' defines the word.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – ''Viva!'' appears as a cry of acclaim in Giovanni Villani.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Il vivere'', “life”, is used as a noun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1556 – Della Casa uses it transitively, “to spend (time)”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1581 – Tasso uses it for “to enjoy life”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1905 – ''Vissuto'', of a literary work, is listed as a neologism after French ''vécu''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|live]], be alive: ''Il gatto è vissuto diciotto anni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To live, spend one's life in a place, time or way; to [[m|en|dwell]]: ''vivere al mare'', ''vivere tranquilli''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' ''vivere di'': to live on, make a living from: ''vivere di traduzioni''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive, figurative)'' To live for, be devoted to: ''vive di teatro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To get by, survive: ''con quella pensione si vive a stento''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To enjoy life, live it to the full; to behave as convention requires (''saper vivere'').^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(intransitive, figurative)'' To last, endure: ''la sua opera vive ancora''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To live through, [[m|en|experience]]: ''vivere un momento difficile''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Life, living; way of life: ''il quieto vivere''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vissuto]]

+ * [[viva]]

+ * [[evviva]]

+ * [[vivacchiare]]

+ * [[vivente]]

+ * [[viveri]]

+ * [[vivibile]]

+ * [[rivivere]]

+ * [[sopravvivere]]

+ * [[sopravvivenza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vivo]]

+ * [[vita]]

+ * [[vitto]]

+ * [[vivace]]

+ * [[vivanda]]

+ * [[la|vīvō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The auxiliary is ''essere'' or ''avere'': ''è vissuto'' and ''ha vissuto'' are both correct, and ''avere'' is the rule in the transitive use.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) The future is ''vivrò'' (old ''viverò''), the past historic ''vissi''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}