est Italian · revision 39070

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1561, Giuseppe Moleto|origins=ang ēast}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɛst/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''est''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form ''este'' is now obsolete.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|es|este]] and [[m|fr|est]], which go back to [[ang|ēast]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) DELI, following Migliorini, says that the names of the compass points, though English in origin, reached Italian through Spanish: the Spanish-looking forms ⟨norte⟩ and ⟨este⟩ came first and gave way to the forms preferred in France.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT also derives the word from Spanish, recorded in 1492.^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini, DEI, Prati and Devoto take it from French, where Old French had [[m|fro|hest|alt=le hest]] in the 12th century.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1547)^(Prati 1951|410)^(Devoto 1968) Zaccaria names both languages and notes that writers used these words from the 16th century, but they became common only in the 19th, with the growth of geography, beside the native [[levante]] and [[oriente]].^(Zaccaria 1901|140)

+

+ The Germanic words for the east, such as [[en|east]] and [[de|Osten]], go back to the root [[ine-pro|*h₂ews-|alt=*aus-]] of words for the dawn, the point where the sun rises; [[aurora]] has the same root.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the form ''este'' in Giuseppe Moleto in 1561, cited by Tommaseo;^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zaccaria 1901|140) ''est'' appears in 1585 in Filippo Sassetti, as the name of the cardinal point where the sun rises at the equinoxes.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zaccaria 1901|140)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Sassetti also uses the compound ''est nord est'', and the GDLI quotes the word for the winds blowing from these points.^(GDLI)^(Prati 1951|410) Daniello Bartoli has ''este'' for the east wind.^(Prati 1951|410) From the compass point the word came to name the eastern part of a country or continent, and with a capital, ''l'Est'', the countries of Eastern Europe under Soviet influence.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) As an invariable adjective after a noun it means “eastern”, as in ''parete est''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1492 – Spanish ''este'' is recorded.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1561 – Giuseppe Moleto uses ''este''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1585 – Filippo Sassetti uses ''est''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 19th century – The compass names become common with the growth of geography.^(Zaccaria 1901|140)

+ * 1938 – Latin ''est'' is recorded as the telegraphic spelling of ''è''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|east]]: the cardinal point where the sun rises at the equinoxes, symbol E; also [[levante]], [[oriente]]: ''Il vento soffia da est.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The direction of that point: ''La camera da letto guarda a est.''^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The eastern part of a country, region or continent: ''Abitano nell'est della Sicilia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(capitalised)'' Eastern Europe, especially the countries once under Soviet influence: ''i paesi dell'Est''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(history)'' In North America, the area of the first European colonies, [[m|en|New England]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(bridge)'' The player in the east position, partner of West.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable, after the noun)'' Eastern, facing east: ''Saliremo dalla parete est.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[levante]]

+ * [[oriente]]

+ * [[aurora]]

+ * [[en|east]]

+ * [[fr|est]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In telegrams the Latin verb form ''est'', “is”, was written for ''è'' so that it could not be confused with the conjunction ''e''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}