bere Italian · revision 37759

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century|origins=ine-pro *píph₃eti}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈbe.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bere''' (first-person singular present bévo, first-person singular past historic bévvi or bevétti or (traditional) bevètti, past participle bevùto, first-person singular imperfect bevévo, first-person singular future berrò, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form [[bevere]] survives in archaic and popular use.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Nocentini 2010) Old and dialect forms include Venetian [[m|vec|ber]] (1307) and Pisan [[m|roa-oit|bé’]].^(LEI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortened form of the older [[bevere]], which is [[inh|la|bibō|t=to drink]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Sabatini–Coletti describes the change as the loss of the syllable after the stress.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Pietro Bembo already noted that although Tuscans use the short form, it came from the longer one, which was in use in Tuscany and other parts of Italy.^(DELI 1999) The shortened form is old: DEI finds it in a glossary that renders a Greek infinitive with it,^(DEI|491) and the LEI points to similar short forms in Vegliote [[m|dlm|bar]], [[fr|boire]] and Campidanese [[m|sc|biri]].^(LEI)

+

+ The Latin verb lives on across Romance: [[oc|beure]], [[ca|beure]], [[es|beber]], [[pt|beber]], [[ro|bea]] and Logudorese [[m|sc|biere]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(LEI)

+

+ Latin [[m|la|bibō]] continues [[itc-pro|*pibō]], a reduplicated present of the root meaning “to drink”, [[ine-pro|*píph₃eti]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Its initial /b/ arose by assimilation to the /b/ inside the word.^(de Vaan 2008)^(DEI|491) It is cognate with [[sa|पिबति|tr=píbati]], [[sga|ibid|t=drinks]], [[grc|πίνω|tr=pínō]] and [[ru|пить|tr=pitʹ]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) The same root, without the reduplication, is found in Latin [[m|la|pōtus|t=drink]] and [[m|la|pōtō|t=to drink]], the source of [[potabile]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the 10th century;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Sabatini–Coletti makes clear that the 10th-century record has the form ''bevere''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The LEI's first record of ''bere'' is the Tuscan ''Fiori e vita di filosafi'', about 1274, and DELI's is a Bolognese ''Memoriale'' of 1282, in the sense “to swallow a liquid”.^(LEI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The infinitive was soon used as a noun, for the act of drinking and for drink itself, in Iacopone da Todi (before 1306).^(DELI 1999) Dante writes of the women of ancient Rome: “E le Romane antiche per lor bere / contente furon d'acqua” (and the Roman women of old were content with water for their drink).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) By about 1313 Dante also used the verb for drinking to excess, and before 1321 for soaking up a liquid.^(LEI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Drinking to someone's health is recorded in Sannazaro before 1530.^(LEI) The figurative sense “to believe naively” is in Pietro Aretino in 1545,^(DELI 1999) and Berni has ''darla a bere'', “to make someone swallow a story”.^(Prati 1951|133) In the 21st century the verb is used of a car that burns a lot of fuel: a 2007 newspaper quotes a driver whose Alfa “drinks like a camel”.^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – The verb is recorded, in the form ''bevere''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * About 1274 – ''Bere'' appears in the ''Fiori e vita di filosafi''.^(LEI)

+ * 1282 – A Bolognese ''Memoriale'' has ''bere''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses ''bere'' as a noun.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1313 – Dante uses it for drinking to excess.^(LEI)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses it for absorbing a liquid.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1530 – Sannazaro uses it for drinking a toast.^(LEI)

+ * 1545 – Pietro Aretino uses it for believing naively.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 2007 – A newspaper uses it of a car's fuel consumption.^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|drink]], swallow a liquid: ''Bevo sempre un bicchiere d'acqua appena sveglio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Used absolutely, to drink alcohol, especially to excess or by habit: ''Da quando ha perso il lavoro beve.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To drink a [[m|en|toast]]: ''bere alla salute di qualcuno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To swallow water by accident while swimming.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of soil or plants, to [[m|en|absorb]] water.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Of an engine or a car, to use a lot of fuel.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To believe something naively: ''darla a bere'', to make someone believe a lie.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Prati 1951|133)

+ # ''(figurative, colloquial)'' To beat an opponent easily; to cover a distance quickly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Drinking, and what one drinks: ''il bere e il mangiare''.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bevanda]]

+ * [[bevitore]]

+ * [[bevuta]]

+ * [[beone]]

+ * [[beverone]]

+ * [[beverino]]

+ * [[abbeverare]]

+ * [[abbeveratoio]]

+ * [[sbevazzare]]

+ * [[bevibile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bevere]]

+ * [[potabile]]

+ * [[beveraggio]]

+ * [[la|bibō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Most forms are made from the stem ''bev-'' (''bevo'', ''bevevo'', ''bevuto''); the future and conditional are ''berrò'' and ''berrei'', and the past historic is ''bevvi'' or ''bevetti''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020) Set phrases include ''bere come una spugna'' “to drink like a fish”, ''bere le parole di qualcuno'' “to hang on someone's words” and ''o bere o affogare'' “sink or swim”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}