prestito Italian · revision 39025

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1385, Ferrara documents|origins=la praestō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈprɛs.ti.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''prestito''' ''m'' (plural prestiti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''prestedo'' and ''prestido''.^(GDLI|14, 272)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|praestitum|t=something lent]], the neuter of [[m|la|praestitus]], past participle of [[m|la|praestō|t=to make available; to guarantee, to lend]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) DELI, Zingarelli and the GDLI call it a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI|14, 272) DELI quotes the jurist Gravina, who noted that the Latin of Optatus already used the participle for a loan, as Italian does.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Latin verb is derived from the adverb meaning “ready, at hand”;^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) Nocentini notes that its forms merged with those of the verb meaning “to excel”, a compound of [[m|la|prae-|t=before]] and [[m|la|stō|t=to stand]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) The verb lives on in [[prestare]], [[fr|prêter]], [[oc|prestar]], [[es|prestar]] and [[pt|prestar]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) [[imprestito]] grew out of the phrase meaning “to give on loan”, and it passed to [[es|emprestido]] and [[pt|emprestido]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ The linguistic sense “loan, loanword” follows [[fr|emprunt]], which is first recorded with this meaning in the 1826 edition of Casanova's memoirs.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DEI also compares [[de|Entlehnung]], [[es|préstamo]] and [[en|loan]], and notes that the word has overtaken the longer form, the term introduced by Graziadio Isaia Ascoli.^(DEI|3072)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Zingarelli date the first record to 1385, in the form ''prestedo'' in Ferrarese texts, though DELI finds its meaning there unclear.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(DELI 1999) DELI's first clear record is Matteo Bandello in 1554, for the act of lending.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Segneri, in the 17th century, condemned profiting from a simple loan, and DEI dates the word to his time.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DEI|3072) In the 19th century it took on financial and political senses: state loans, forced loans and the ''Cassa di depositi e prestiti'' appear in Tommaseo's dictionary, and a newspaper of 1866 uses it for money lent.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The linguistic sense was used by Pietro Colletta before 1831, who wished that “modern” uses of words would be blamed, since Italian did not need such ''prestiti''.^(DELI 1999) The term ''prestito linguistico'' is recorded in 1952, in Tagliavini's book on the origins of the Romance languages.^(DELI 1999) Later senses are the lending of books by libraries and the transfer of a player from one club to another for a season.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1385 – ''Prestedo'' appears in Ferrarese texts.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1554 – Bandello uses ''prestito'' for the act of lending.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1831 – Pietro Colletta uses it of words taken from another language.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1826 – French ''emprunt'' “loan from another language” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1866 – A Verona newspaper uses it for money lent.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1871 – A political and economic use is recorded.^(DEI|3072)

+ * 1952 – ''Prestito linguistico'' appears in Tagliavini.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|loan]]: the handing over of money or of a thing for a period, with the obligation to give it back, sometimes with [[interesse|alt=interest]]: ''Mi ha chiesto in prestito la bicicletta per il fine settimana.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The thing lent: ''Questo cappotto non è mio, è un prestito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A sum of money lent, especially by a [[banca|alt=bank]]: ''Hanno ottenuto un prestito per comprare casa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # The lending of books by a [[biblioteca|alt=library]].^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(sport)'' The temporary transfer of a player to another club: ''Il portiere giocherà in prestito per un anno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(linguistics)'' The taking of a word or other element from another language or dialect; also the [[m|en|loanword]] itself.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[imprestito]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prestare]]

+ * [[presto]]

+ * [[prestazione]]

+ * [[la|praesto]]

+ * [[fr|emprunt]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Dare in prestito'' means “to lend” and ''prendere in'' (or ''a'') ''prestito'' “to borrow”, also figuratively of ideas taken from others.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) A ''prestito d'onore'' is a loan on easy terms to students or young entrepreneurs.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}