superare Italian · revision 39202

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1348, Giovanni Villani|origins=la super}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /su.peˈra.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''superare''' (first-person singular present sùpero, first-person singular past historic superài, past participle superàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|superō|t=to be above; to overcome]], from [[m|la|superus|t=upper, higher]], itself from [[m|la|super|t=above]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Wiktionary allows it to be an Italian formation from [[super-]] and [[-are]] as well.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The popular outcome of the same Latin verb was Old Italian [[m|roa-oit|soprare]], now obsolete: the inherited doublet of the learned verb.^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3678) The Latin word lives on elsewhere with changed meanings: [[ro|supăra|t=to annoy]], [[pro|sobrar|t=to outbid]], and [[ca|sobrar]], [[es|sobrar]] and [[pt|sobrar]], “to be left over, to be superfluous”.^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) Nocentini notes that Spanish has the learned [[m|es|superar]] beside the inherited verb.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the chronicle of Giovanni Villani, who died in 1348, with the sense “to be greater than other people or things in size or quantity”.^(DELI 1999) Zingarelli dates the word to 1282.^(Zingarelli 2010) The oldest quotations in the GDLI, from the ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'', use it of defeating an enemy in war.^(GDLI|20, 527)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The military sense “to defeat, to overcome in battle” runs through the GDLI's quotations from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.^(GDLI|20, 527) Tommaseo glosses the word as “to win, to remain superior, to surpass”.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ The everyday senses of modern Italian are dated late by DELI: “to go beyond a given limit” (1811), “to be cleverer or more able than others” (1814) and “to come through a difficult or dangerous situation unharmed” (1826), all first found in Milanese printed texts, and “to overtake” (a vehicle or a rival) in 1922.^(DELI 1999) To pass an exam belongs to the last group.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) DEI notes the sense “to win in an examination” from the 19th century.^(DEI|3678) The participle ''superato'' took on the sense “outdated, no longer valid” by 1940.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1282 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''superare'' for being greater in size or number.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1642 – ''Superabile'' “that can be overcome” is recorded in Galileo, who died that year.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1691 – ''Superamento'' appears in the third edition of the Crusca dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1811 – The sense “to go beyond a limit” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1826 – The sense “to come through a difficulty unharmed” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1922 – The sense “to overtake” is in the Zingarelli dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1940 – ''Superato'' “outdated” is recorded in Palazzi's dictionary.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|exceed]] someone or something in a measurable quantity: size, height, weight, number: ''La torre supera di dieci metri il campanile.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To go past a limit in space or time: ''Mia zia ha superato la sessantina.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To get over or across something; to [[m|en|cross]] an obstacle, a river or a pass, or cover a distance.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To [[m|en|overtake]] a vehicle or a rival moving in the same direction.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To go beyond what is possible or fitting: ''Questo prezzo supera ogni limite.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To [[m|en|surpass]] or [[m|en|outdo]] others in a quality or skill, ''superare sé stesso'', to do better than ever before.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To [[m|en|overcome]] a difficulty, come through an illness or a crisis, or pass an examination.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[superabile]]

+ * [[superamento]]

+ * [[superato]]

+ * [[insuperabile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sopra]]

+ * [[superiore]]

+ * [[la|superō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The old form ''soprare'', marked obsolete in the dictionaries, is the popular development of the Latin verb.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(DEI|3678)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}