pregare Italian · revision 38322

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050|origins=ine-pro *preḱ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /preˈɡa.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pregare''' (first-person singular present prègo, first-person singular past historic pregài, past participle pregàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old and dialect forms include [[roa-oit|precare]], [[roa-oit|preare]], [[roa-oit|prigare]] and [[roa-oit|priegare]], and the Old Italian present had diphthongised stressed forms such as ''priego''.^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*precō|alt=*precāre]], the active form of [[la|precor|t=to pray, entreat]], a verb derived from [[m|la|prex|t=prayer, request]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) The voiced /g/ for Latin /k/ is, Devoto says, a northern lenition, and the older form ⟨precare⟩ survived in poetry, as when Dante rhymes “ven preco”.^(Devoto 1968)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ The verb is found across the western Romance languages and in Dalmatian: [[fr|prier]], [[oc|pregar]], [[ca|pregar]], [[pt|pregar]] and [[dlm|precur]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3059)^(Körting 1907) In Spanish and Portuguese the usual verbs for “to pray” are [[es|orar]] and [[es|rezar]].^(Körting 1907)

+

+ The Latin noun goes back to [[ine-pro|*preḱ-|t=to ask]], whose cognates include [[m|la|poscō|t=to demand]], [[sa|पृच्छति|tr=pṛcchati|t=asks]], [[de|Frage|t=question]] and [[cu|просити|tr=prositi|t=to ask]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Nocentini date the verb to about 1050, and the GDLI's first quotation is the Umbrian confession formula, in which the penitent asks the priest to pray for him (''Pregonde te, sacerdote'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GDLI) DELI's earliest dates are the Venetian “to ask for something by entreaty” in 1253 and the absolute “to say prayers” in the early 13th-century ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian had both the secular and the religious senses: Guittone d'Arezzo begs “ladies in love” to plead for him with his lady, and Boccaccio's characters pray one another for favours.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) In the 14th century the verb could also mean “to wish” and, ironically, “to curse”, as when Boccaccio has someone “pray” cruel blasphemies on another's head; both are now obsolete.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|3059)

+

+ The interjection [[prego]], the first person of the present, is recorded from 1737 by Nocentini;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) DELI finds it as an answer to ''grazie'' in an 1868 phrasebook and in Tommaseo, and Panzini thought it modelled on German ''bitte'' in the lands once ruled by Austria.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) ''Farsi pregare'' “to need coaxing” describes someone who grants a request only after much insistence.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – The verb is first recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Early 13th century – The ''Ritmo su Sant'Alessio'' uses it for “to say prayers”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1243 – Guido Faba uses the noun ''prego'' “prayer”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1253 – A Venetian text uses it for “to entreat”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1737 – ''Prego'' is recorded as a formula of courtesy.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1868 – ''Prego'' as the reply to ''grazie'' appears in a German–Italian phrasebook.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|beg]], ask humbly: ''L'ho pregato di non partire.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|pray]] to God, a saint or a deity: ''pregare la Madonna''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To pray, say prayers: ''La nonna prega ogni sera prima di dormire.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To ask politely, invite, also in formulas of courtesy: ''I signori passeggeri sono pregati di allacciare le cinture.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary)'' To implore, call down something on someone.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prego]]

+ * [[preghiera]]

+ * [[pregatore]]

+ * [[pregadio]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prece]]

+ * [[la|precor]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ti prego'' and ''la prego'' are polite formulas, “please”, and ''prego'' alone answers ''grazie'' (“you're welcome”) or invites someone in.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999) ''Non farsi pregare'' means to agree at once and gladly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}