posto Italian · revision 37610

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211, Florentine bankers' book|origins=la pōnō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpos.to/, /ˈpɔs.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''posto''' ''m'' (plural posti)^(Wiktionary)

+ In Naples the noun is first recorded as [[roa-oit|puosto]] (1452), and the GDLI gives ''puòsto'' as the dialect form.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|13, 1082)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|positus|t=placed, put]], the past participle of [[m|la|pōnō|t=to place, put]], through the shortened form [[m|la|postus]] with the loss of the vowel after the stress.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968|340) The adjective “placed, situated” came first, and the noun is that participle used as a noun, in the sense “the place fixed or assigned”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI explains the close /o/ of the word by the influence of [[porre]].^(DEI|3039)

+

+ The same participle gave [[ca|post]], [[es|puesto]] and [[pt|posto]].^(Nocentini 2010) Latin [[m|la|pōnō]] goes back to an older compound meaning “to put down”, made of the prefix [[m|la|po-]] and [[m|la|sinō|t=to let, allow]]; its old perfect was formed like that of the simple verb, and the newer perfect [[m|la|posuī]] was built on the participle once the link with the simple verb was no longer felt.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ The noun was borrowed as [[fr|poste]] in the 15th or 16th century,^(DEI|3039) first in the military sense of a place of watch or combat (1636) and then of a job (1663).^(DIFIT) English [[m|en|post]] “position, job” (1562) and “place assigned to a soldier” (1598) is from French and Italian, and [[de|Posten]] is a borrowing too.^(DIFIT)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The participle used as an adjective, “placed, situated”, is recorded in 1211 in a Florentine bankers' book.^(DELI 1999) The noun first appears in 1452 at Naples, as ''puosto'', for a place assigned to someone or something;^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) ''posto'' itself is in Cosimo Bartoli before 1572.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun spread through military language: in 1553 a journal of the siege of Montalcino uses it for the place of each soldier in the ranks of his unit.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) In 1611 Lodovico Melzo uses it for a space kept free or reserved for someone, Paolo Segneri in 1673 for an office or employment, and Rigutini and Fanfani in 1875 record it for a locality or site.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ From the idea of the right place come the everyday phrases ''a posto'' “in order” (also of a person, “decent, reliable”), ''fuori posto'' “out of place”, ''mettere a posto'' “to tidy up” and, figuratively, “to put someone in their place”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Compounds name reserved places: ''posto letto'' (a hospital or hotel bed), ''posto macchina'', ''posto barca'', ''posto di blocco'' (a roadblock) and ''posto di lavoro'' (a job).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary) The adjective survives in ''posto che'' “given that”, used by Dante and, in the 13th century, by Jacopone with the old meaning “although”.^(DEI|3039)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – The participle ''posto'' “placed, situated” appears in a Florentine bankers' book.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1452 – The noun is recorded at Naples as ''puosto'', “an assigned place”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1553 – ''Posto'' is used for a soldier's place in the ranks.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+ * 1562 – English ''post'' “position, office” is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1611 – Lodovico Melzo uses it for a reserved space.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1636 – French ''poste'' in the military sense is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1673 – Paolo Segneri uses it for a job or office.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1875 – Rigutini and Fanfani record the sense “locality, site”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Room, [[m|en|space]]: a portion of space that people or things can occupy, also figuratively: ''Nella mia macchina c'è posto per cinque.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The usual or proper place of something: ''Rimetti le forbici al loro posto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A place assigned to someone, in a group, a classroom or a queue, or a person's position in a ranking: ''È arrivato al terzo posto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A [[m|en|seat]] in a theatre, stadium or vehicle: ''un'auto a cinque posti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|job]], an office or employment: ''Ha trovato un posto in banca.''^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|place]], spot or locality: ''un bel posto per le vacanze''.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(military)'' A post: a place where soldiers or police are stationed, as in ''posto di blocco'', a roadblock.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Past participle of [[porre]]: placed, [[m|en|situated]]: ''un paese posto in cima alla collina''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Agreed, fixed, or taken as given; in ''posto che'' “given that, supposing that”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[postare]]

+ * [[postazione]]

+ * [[impostare]]

+ * [[impostazione]]

+ * [[spostare]]

+ * [[spostamento]]

+ * [[appostare]]

+ * [[avamposto]]

+ * [[postaccio]]

+ * [[posticino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[porre]]

+ * [[posta]]

+ * [[posizione]]

+ * [[positivo]]

+ * [[la|positus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Zingarelli records the jocular superlative ''appostissimo'' of ''a posto''.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}