sopravvissuto Italian · revision 39027

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1691, Crusca dictionary|origins=la-lat supravīvō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /so.prav.visˈsu.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sopravvissuto''' ''m'' (plural sopravvissuti, feminine sopravvissuta)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old variants were ''sopravvisso'', ''sorvissuto'' and ''sopravvivuto''.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the past participle of [[sopravvivere]] “to survive”, used as an adjective and a noun.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Wiktionary analyses it as [[af|it|sopra-|vissuto]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The verb continues [[la-lat|supravīvō|alt=supravīvere]], a compound of [[m|la|suprā|t=above]] and [[m|la|vīvō|t=to live]], which took the place of the earlier [[m|la|supervīvō|alt=supervīvere]].^(DELI 1999) Nocentini notes that its prefix was remade on Italian [[sopra-]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the third edition of the Crusca dictionary (1691), for one who is still alive after the death of others; the fourth edition quotes it from a book of sermons that DELI could not check.^(DELI 1999) Tommaseo quotes that text: a woman deeply grieved at the news that her husband had not survived.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb [[sopravvivere]] is older, recorded before 1342 in Domenico Cavalca, for living on after others or escaping a disaster.^(DELI 1999) The participle soon described those who escaped a shipwreck, an earthquake or a massacre, the sense that dominates today.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ A figurative, scornful sense appeared in the 20th century: Panzini's dictionary of 1942 says that the young people of the 1900s called ''sopravvissuti'' those who, because of their age, still thought, spoke and wrote in the old way.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Modern dictionaries keep this sense for a person attached to outdated ideas and habits.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses the verb ''sopravvivere''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1691 – The Crusca dictionary records ''sopravvissuto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 17th century – Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the adjective and noun to this century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ * 1942 – Panzini records the scornful sense “person of outdated ideas”.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|survivor]]: one who has escaped a disaster or an accident, or who is still alive after others have died: ''Dopo la valanga i soccorritori cercarono altri sopravvissuti.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative, ironic)'' A person who keeps ideas and habits of a past age.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Still alive after the death of others, or after a danger of death, often followed by ''a'': ''l'unico soldato sopravvissuto alla battaglia''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Behind the times, with outdated ideas.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sopravvivere]]

+ * [[sopravvivenza]]

+ * [[vivere]]

+ * [[superstite]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ As a verb form it is the past participle of [[sopravvivere]], with the auxiliary ''essere'': ''è sopravvissuto all'incidente''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) The synonym [[superstite]] is more formal.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}