prestare Italian · revision 39098

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211, Florentine bankers' book|origins=la praestō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /presˈta.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''prestare''' (first-person singular present prèsto, first-person singular past historic prestài, past participle prestàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ The past participle also had a short form, [[m|it|presto]].^(GDLI|14, 264)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|praestō|alt=praestāre|t=to provide, guarantee; to lend]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)^(DÉRom) DELI lists it among the learned words of the family, together with [[prestazione]] and [[prestito]], but Nocentini, DEI and the DÉRom treat it as a word of the western Romance languages: [[fr|prêter]], [[oc|prestar]], [[ca|prestar]], [[es|prestar]] and [[pt|prestar]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3071)^(DÉRom) The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance [[m|la-vul|*prestō|alt=*/ˈprɛst-a-/]] “to be of use; to put something at someone's disposal for a time, to lend”, found in every branch except Romanian and Dalmatian.^(DÉRom)

+

+ Nocentini separates two Latin sources: an intransitive [[m|la|praestō]] “to excel”, a compound of [[m|la|prae-|t=before]] and [[m|la|stō|t=to stand]], the source of [[prestante]], and a transitive verb “to guarantee, put at someone's disposal”, formed from the adverb [[m|la|praestō|t=ready, at hand]] (the source of [[presto]]); their conjugations later merged.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto 1968) GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and GDLI give only the compound “to stand in front”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI) The sense “to lend” developed in Late Latin.^(DEI|3071)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is a Florentine bankers' book of 1211, in the sense of giving money or something else on condition that it is returned.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Other early Tuscan accounts record sums ''prestati'';^(GDLI|14, 264) Iacopone writes that one who has lent nothing cannot be blamed.^(GDLI|14, 264) Guittone d'Arezzo (before 1294) uses the verb in the wider sense “to grant, offer, give”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides lending, the verb came to mean giving help, care, attention or faith: ''prestare fede'' is in Boccaccio, ''prestare orecchie'' in Matteo Villani, and ''prestare ubbidienza'' in Davanzati.^(Prati 1951|803) ''Prestare giuramento'' “to take an oath” is from the legal language, recorded in 1871.^(DEI|3071)

+

+ The reflexive ''prestarsi'' “to lend oneself, offer one's help” is dated by DELI to 1801 and by DEI to Bartoli in the 17th century, and is taken to be a calque of French ''se prêter''; purists such as Cesari criticized it.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3071) Of things, ''prestarsi'' means “to be suitable for”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) From the verb came ''prestatore'' (before 1342), ''prestazione'' (before 1381, first “tax”, later “service, performance”) and ''prestito'' (1554); ''prestanome'' “front man” (1804) is modelled on French ''prête-nom''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – A Florentine bankers' book uses ''prestare'' “to lend”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses it for “to give, grant”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – ''Prestatore'' is recorded in Domenico Cavalca.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1381 – ''Prestazione'' is recorded, as a tax.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1554 – ''Prestito'' is recorded in Bandello.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1801 – ''Prestarsi'' “to offer oneself” is recorded in Milan.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1804 – ''Prestanome'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|lend]]: to give something on condition that it is returned; of money, to lend it, perhaps at interest: ''Mi presti la tua penna?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To give, offer, provide (help, care, one's work): ''prestare soccorso'', ''prestare servizio'' “to serve”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prestito]]

+ * [[prestatore]]

+ * [[prestazione]]

+ * [[prestanome]]

+ * [[prestavoce]]

+ * [[prestasoldi]]

+ * [[prestarsi]]

+ * [[imprestare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[improntare]]

+ * [[presto]]

+ * [[prestante]]

+ * [[fr|prêter]]

+ * [[la|praesto]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''prestare attenzione'' “to pay attention”, ''prestare fede'' “to believe”, ''prestare orecchio'' “to listen” and ''prestare il fianco'' “to lay oneself open”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The reflexive ''prestarsi'' means “to offer one's help” and, of things, “to lend itself to, be suited to”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) GDLI records two rare homographs: ''prestare'' “to prepare”, an aphetic form of ''apprestare'', and a literary ''prestare'' “to speed up” a musical passage, from ''presto''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}