costare Italian · revision 38857

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1178–1182, Savona document|origins=la stō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kosˈta.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''costare''' (first-person singular present còsto, first-person singular past historic costài, past participle costàto, auxiliary èssere)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cōnstō|alt=cōnstāre|t=to stand firm; to cost, be worth]], from [[m|la|stō|t=to stand]] with the prefix [[m|la|con-]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Sabatini notes that it is a popular word, with the Latin cluster /nst/ simplified to /st/, beside the learned doublet [[constare]].^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary) The Latin meaning “to stay fixed” led to “to have a fixed value”, and so “to cost”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ The verb is pan-Romance: [[fr|coûter]], [[oc|costar]], [[ca|costar]], [[es|costar]], [[pt|custar]] and [[sc|costare]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) In [[ro|custa]] it kept a sense nearer the Latin, “to live”, and Meyer-Lübke cites an old Romanian greeting meaning “God keep you”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1133)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is a Savona document of 1178–82, in the sense “to have a certain price, to require a certain expense”.^(TLIO) DELI's first record is the ''Nuovi testi fiorentini'', before 1236.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Before 1294 Brunetto Latini used the verb figuratively for what causes pain or sacrifice, and Dante writes of a fault ''che laggiù cotanto costa'', “that costs so dear down there”.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The TLIO records ''costare la vita'', to pay with one's life, in Old Italian.^(TLIO) Tommaseo set it against ''valere'': ''costare'' is the current price, ''valere'' the intrinsic worth.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The old sense “to be evident”, the meaning of ''constare'', is found in Caterina da Siena, Galileo and Salvini.^(Prati 1951|339)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The noun ''costo'', cost, is recorded from Iacopone before 1306, and ''costoso'', expensive, from 1789.^(DELI 1999) Romanian [[m|ro|costa]] and Serbo-Croatian [[m|sh|коштати|tr=koštati]] were borrowed from the Italian verb.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1178–1182 – A Savona document has the first record.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1236 – The ''Nuovi testi fiorentini'' use it of a price.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it of pain and sacrifice.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone uses ''costo''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1789 – ''Costoso'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|cost]], to have a certain price: ''Quanto costa questa giacca?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To be expensive: ''In questa città la vita costa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To require effort, pain or sacrifice, or to cost someone something: ''Quell'errore gli è costato il lavoro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To be hard for someone, to weigh on them: ''Mi costa ammetterlo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[costo]]

+ * [[costoso]]

+ * [[sottocosto]]

+ * [[costicchiare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[constare]]

+ * [[stare]]

+ * [[la|cōnstō]]

+ * [[fr|coûter]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The verb takes ''essere'' as its auxiliary.^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) Set phrases include ''costare caro'' (to cost dear, also figuratively), ''costare un occhio della testa'' (to cost an arm and a leg) and ''costi quel che costi'' (whatever it takes).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}