adatto Italian · revision 38818

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1292, Bono Giamboni|origins=la aptus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aˈdat.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''adatto''' (feminine adatta, masculine plural adatti, feminine plural adatte, superlative adattissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older forms include [[roa-oit|adacto]], [[m|roa-oit|adapto]] and [[m|roa-oit|addatto]].^(TLIO)^(LEI|1, 613) Dialect forms include [[scn|addàggiu]] and, at Bitonto, [[nap|addètte]].^(LEI|1, 613)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Most dictionaries see it as [[bor|la-med|adaptus|t=suited]], formed from [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|aptus|t=fit, suitable]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The LEI notes that the Latin adjective is recorded in Gaul in the 7th century and lives on in [[fro|aate|t=fit]]; in Italian it is a learned word.^(LEI|1, 613)^(DEI|55)^(REW 1935) Nocentini and Devoto–Oli explain it instead as the short past participle of [[adattare]], and Devoto saw a cross of the regular participle with [[atto|t=fit]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Devoto 1968) [[pro|adaut]] or [[m|pro|azaut|t=graceful, nimble]] is the same word, and the LEI regards the old Italian sense “well made, able” as a calque of the Occitan.^(LEI|1, 613)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Bono Giamboni's translation of Vegetius (before 1292), in the sense “having the right features for a purpose”.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI dates the word to Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294), whose sonnet speaks of a villainous speech that is “shrewd and apt” (''accorto e adatto'').^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|1, 613)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian also used ''adatto'' of people: able, skilled (sometimes in a bad sense), and of looks, handsome or graceful, said especially of women.^(TLIO)^(GRADIT 2003) These senses, close to the Occitan, are now obsolete.^(LEI|1, 613)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The general sense “suitable, fit for a purpose” prevailed, with the superlative ''adattissimo'' in Boccaccio and Bencivenni, the doubled ''adatto adatto'' in Giovan Maria Cecchi (1551), and the negative ''disadatto'' from 1427.^(LEI|1, 613) Tommaseo and Rigutini distinguished ''atto'', having some of the qualities needed, from ''adatto'', having the qualities and the means as well.^(GDLI|1)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ''adatto''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1427 – ''Disadatto'' is recorded.^(LEI|1, 613)

+ * 1551 – Giovan Maria Cecchi uses ''adatto adatto'' “very suitable”.^(LEI|1, 613)

+ * 1865 – ''Adattamente'' and ''adattezza'' appear in Tommaseo–Bellini.^(LEI|1, 613)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|suitable]], fit or right for a purpose or a person: ''Non è il momento adatto per chiederglielo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Having an aptitude for something: ''Non mi sento adatto a questo lavoro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' Well built, of a body; lively, skilful, of a person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[inadatto]]

+ * [[disadatto]]

+ * [[adattezza]]

+ * [[adattamente]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[adattare]]

+ * [[atto]]

+ * [[la|aptus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Adatto'' takes ''a'' or ''per'', also before an infinitive: ''adatto ai principianti'', ''adatto per viaggiare''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}