attesa Italian · revision 38877

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1235, Ghiberti|origins=la tendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /atˈte.za/, /atˈte.sa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''attesa''' ''f'' (plural attese)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The Italian dictionaries derive it from [[attendere|t=to wait for]], through the past participle [[atteso]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The LEI and the TLIO instead posit a Latin verbal noun [[la-vul|*attēnsa|t=waiting]], beside an adjective meaning “attentive”; it would also explain [[ca|atesa|t=keeping of a promise]].^(LEI|3, 2063)^(TLIO)

+

+ The verb [[m|it|attendere]] is a learned word from [[la|attendō|t=to turn one's attention to]], formed from [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|tendō|t=to stretch]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The sense “to wait for” comes from Medieval Latin, where it is recorded in the 9th century in the charters of Lausanne.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The LEI's first record is in Ghiberti, a poet of the Sicilian School, about 1235, and Old Sicilian has the form ''attisa''.^(LEI|3, 2063) The TLIO cites Pier della Vigna (before 1249), and DELI Amorozzo da Firenze, whose poem complains of a life ''ch'ha fatto lunga attesa'', “that has waited long”.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The sense is “waiting”, and also the anxious state of one who waits.^(LEI|3, 2063)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian also used the noun for the natural end of a thing and for the fulfilment of a promise.^(TLIO) A masculine ''ateso'' meant delay, and ''sanza atteso'' or ''senza alcuna atesa'' meant “without delay”.^(LEI|3, 2063) In the dialects of Parma, Venice and Vicenza the word was used in trade for an expectation.^(LEI|3, 2063)

+

+ The modern phrases are recent: ''sala d'attesa'', “waiting room”, is recorded from 1961, and ''attesa di vita'', “life expectancy”, appears in ''La Repubblica'' in 1989.^(LEI|3, 2063)^(GDLI) In the plural ''attese'' are the hopes placed in someone or something, and ''in dolce attesa'' means “pregnant”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1235 – Ghiberti uses ''attesa''.^(LEI|3, 2063)

+ * Before 1249 – Pier della Vigna uses it.^(TLIO)

+ * 13th century – Amorozzo da Firenze writes of a ''lunga attesa''.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+ * 1961 – ''Sala d'attesa'' is recorded.^(LEI|3, 2063)

+ * 1989 – ''Attesa di vita'' appears in ''La Repubblica''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|wait]], waiting; the time spent waiting: ''Dopo un'ora di attesa è arrivato il medico.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(often plural)'' [[m|en|expectation]], what one hopes for from someone or from a situation: ''Il nuovo album non ha deluso le attese.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(telephony)'' ''in attesa'': on hold.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[attesismo]]

+ * [[attesista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[attendere]]

+ * [[atteso]]

+ * [[attento]]

+ * [[attenzione]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''in attesa di'', ''sala d'attesa'', ''lista d'attesa'' “waiting list” and ''in dolce attesa'' “expecting a baby”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}