prendere

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See also: prenderé

Italian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin prēndere, from earlier prehendere, from prae- (“before”) + *hendere (“take, seize”) (not attested without a prefix), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈprɛn.de.re/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛndere
  • Hyphenation: prèn‧de‧re

Verb

prèndere (first-person singular present prèndo, first-person singular past historic prési, past participle préso, auxiliary avére or (also in the meaning "to happen unexpectedly") èssere)

  1. (transitive) to take, hold, pick up, get
    gli studenti prendono appunti
    the students take notes
    prese la fidanzata e la avvicinò a sé
    he took his girlfriend and brought her closer to him
    prendere la paga ― to take the paycheck
    Synonyms: tenere, agguantare, stringere, afferrare, impugnare, brandire, ghermire, pigliare
  2. (transitive) to conquer (of a political territory or entity)
    Synonyms: conquistare, occupare, espugnare
  3. (transitive) to take (a means of transport)
    prendere il treno ― to take the train
  4. (transitive, by extension) to choose (a certain route or path)
    prendere la scorciatoia ― to take the shortcut
    Synonyms: immettersi, incanalarsi, infilare, avviarsi, affacciarsi
  5. (transitive) to catch (a criminal, animal, etc.)
    prendere un latitante ― to catch a fugitive
    prendere una lepre ― to catch a hare
    Synonyms: catturare, arrestare, acchiappare, acciuffare
  6. (transitive, by extension) to catch (an illness)
    prendere un raffreddore ― to catch a cold
    Synonym: contrarre
  7. (informal, transitive) to be beat up or defeated
    Synonym: prenderle
  8. (transitive) to get, buy
    Synonyms: acquistare, comprare, comperare, procurarsi
  9. (transitive, informal) to steal
    gli hanno preso il telefono
    they stole his phone (from him)
    Synonyms: sgraffignare, derubare, fregare
  10. (transitive) to assume (a task, responsibility, etc.)
    prendere un compito ― to take up a task
    Synonym: assumere
  11. (transitive) to hit or strike
    prendere il bersaglio ― to hit the target
    prendergli una gamba ― to hit his leg
    Synonyms: colpire, battere, percuotere, ferire, danneggiare, ledere
    (of a target) Synonyms: colpire, azzeccare, imbroccare
  12. (transitive) to hit or strike
    prendere a calci ― to kick (literally, “to hit with kicks”)
    prendere a pugni ― to punch (literally, “to hit with punches”)
  13. (transitive) to eat, drink, ingest (of food, drink, medicine, etc.)
    Synonyms: ingerire, assumere, bere, mangiare, servirsi
  14. (transitive, informal) to romantically attract
    i suoi occhi mi presero
    I fell in love with his eyes
    (literally, “his eyes attracted me”)
    Synonyms: attirare, attrarre, conquistare, stregare, innamorare, abbagliare, incantare, sedurre, allettare, ammaliare, rapire, estasiare
  15. (transitive) to acquire (a characteristic)
    il latte ha preso un sapore acido
    the milk acquired an acidic taste
    Synonyms: ereditare, derivare, acquisire
  16. (transitive) to pursue (a vocation)
    prendere ingegneria ― to pursue engineering
  17. (transitive) to measure
    la mamma gli ha preso la temperatura
    the mother took his temperature
    dobbiamo prendere la lunghezza del percorso
    we have to measure the length of the course
  18. (transitive) to pick up, receive (a radio, TV, telegraphic, etc. transmission)
    prendere il segnale ― to pick up the signal
    Synonyms: captare, ricevere
  19. (transitive) to feel (an emotion)
    prendere corraggio ― to hearten (literally, “feel courage”)
    prendere fiducia ― to trust (literally, “feel trust”)
    lo prendo in simpatia
    I look kindly on him
    (literally, “I feel him in pleasantness”)
  20. (transitive) to take hold of, seize, or strike (someone) (of a sensation, feeling, etc.)
    una terribile paura gli ha preso
    a terrible fear struck him
  21. (transitive, informal) to occupy or take up (space or time)
    quel dipinto prende tutto il muro
    that painting takes up the entire wall
    Synonym: occupare
  22. (transitive, informal, by extension) to occupy someone's mind
    è preso dalla matematica ― he is obsessed with math
  23. (transitive) to require (energy, effort, etc.)
    un'impresa che prende tutte le vostre energie
    an undertaking that requires all of your energy
  24. (transitive) (sometimes with per) to take for or confuse
    Synonyms: scambiare, confondere, credere, ritenere
  25. (transitive) to interpret
    prendere la legge alla lettera ― to interpret the law to the letter
    Synonyms: interpretare, intendere, scegliere, adottare
  26. (transitive) to choose (someone for a role, job, etc.); to hire
    l'hanno preso per bidello ― they hired him as a janitor
  27. (transitive) to treat (someone) (in a certain way)
    mi hanno preso a male parole
    they insulted me
    (literally, “treated me with bad words”)
  28. (transitive) to accept
    ora si deve prendere la vita come viene
    now we have to take life for what it is
  29. (intransitive) (with a or per) to move (towards); to head (for)
    prendere a destra ― to turn right
  30. (intransitive) (with a + inf.) to begin
    da quel giorno prese ad amarla
    from that day, he began to love her
  31. (intransitive) to begin to burn (of a fire)
    Synonym: appiccare
  32. (construction, intransitive) to adhere to the building materials by hardening; to take hold (of a binder)
    Synonyms: attaccare, indurire, fare presa, solidificarsi
  33. (intransitive) to take root (of a plant)
  34. (intransitive) to happen unexpectedly
    Synonyms: capitare, accadere, sopraggiungere
  35. (vulgar, slang) in the form "prenderlo", literally "to take it": to be penetrated sexually

Conjugation

    Conjugation of prèndere (root-stressed -ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive prèndere
auxiliary verb avére, èssere1 gerund prendèndo
present participle prendènte past participle préso
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present prèndo prèndi prènde prendiàmo prendéte prèndono
imperfect prendévo prendévi prendéva prendevàmo prendevàte prendévano
past historic prési prendésti prése prendémmo prendéste présero
future prenderò prenderài prenderà prenderémo prenderéte prenderànno
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present prenderèi prenderésti prenderèbbe, prenderébbe prenderémmo prenderéste prenderèbbero, prenderébbero
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present prènda prènda prènda prendiàmo prendiàte prèndano
imperfect prendéssi prendéssi prendésse prendéssimo prendéste prendéssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
prèndi prènda prendiàmo prendéte prèndano
negative imperative non prèndere non prènda non prendiàmo non prendéte non prèndano

1Also in the meaning "to happen unexpectedly".

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

  • prendere in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation 1

Verb

prēndēre

  1. inflection of prēndō:
    1. third-person plural perfect active indicative
    2. second-person singular future passive indicative

Pronunciation 2

Verb

prēndere

  1. inflection of prēndō:
    1. present active infinitive
    2. second-person singular present passive imperative/indicative
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