prendere

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 [with a ‘with/using’]

    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) [auxiliary avere]

    prendere a destra ― to turn right

30. (intransitive) (with a inf.) to begin [auxiliary avere]

    da quel giorno prese ad amarla

    from that day, he began to love her

31. (intransitive) to begin to burn [auxiliary avere] (of a fire)

    Synonym: appiccare

32. (construction, intransitive) to adhere to the building materials by hardening; to take hold [auxiliary avere] (of a binder)

    Synonyms: attaccare, indurire, fare presa, solidificarsi

33. (intransitive) to take root [auxiliary avere] (of a plant)
34. (intransitive) to happen unexpectedly [auxiliary essere or avere]

    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

• prenderci
• prendere a pesci in faccia
• prendere di mira
• prendere due piccioni con una fava
• prendere il largo
• prendere il sole
• prendere il via
• prendere in giro
• prendere la balla al balzo
• prendere o lasciare
• prendere per il culo (vulgar)
• prendere per la gola
• prendere piede
• prendere un abbaglio
• prendere un granchio
• prenderle
• prendersela
• prendersi
• rapprendere

 

Related terms

• apprendere
• comprendere
• prensile
• prensione
• riprendere
• sorprendere

 

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• perderne

Latin

Pronunciation 1

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /preːnˈdeː.re/, [preːn̪ˈd̪eːrɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /prenˈde.re/, [pren̪ˈd̪ɛːre]

Verb

prēndēre

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

Pronunciation 2

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpreːn.de.re/, [ˈpreːn̪d̪ɛrɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpren.de.re/, [ˈprɛn̪d̪ere]

Verb

prēndere

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