Talk:andare

Implying necessity

Another meaning of 'andare' in its third person form is that of implying necessity. E.g. 'Questo va fatto, anche se non vuoi!' = 'This needs to / has to / must be done, even though you don't want to!' (lit. 'This goes done [...]'). Or it describes a customary or a suggestion that is presented as a necessity. E.g. 'I documenti importanti vanno firmati solo dopo attenta lettura' = 'Important documents must be signed only after a careful reading'. I think it should be added. 82.58.78.29 06:53, 9 April 2019 (UTC)

etymology

That andare (with all its conjugations) is a suppletion of vadere and an other verb is so obvious, it doesn't have to be explained. That is why I put this back in (was before you changed it). Browsing through various dictionaries, I found little support for the "ambitare" hypothesis. Most support I found for the development "aditare" -> "anditare" -> "and'tare" -> "andare". The hypothesis "ambulare" -> "andare" (from earlier versions of the page) makes little sense. It it often quoted as the origin of French "aller" (hypothetical shortening "allare" of "ambulare"). But this is contested as well. (change 20:16 July 5th, 2006)

It is dare di matto, not andare di matto

The Online Etymology Dictionary's etymology of andare is that it's from Latin ambitare, apparently the frequentative of ambire. I think that's phonologically more plausible than "aditare" > "anditare" since that etymology gives no explanation for the sudden appearance of the "n". Angr 16:52, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Insertion of "n" is not that unusual. It is explained here: http://www.etimo.it/?term=andare&find=Cerca .Berndf 14:44, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

andare a fuoco

Someone who knows Italian well might think this is succinct, but the short definition line looks recursive and doesn't make any sense to English-only speaker me. Does andare=andare a fuoco as a shortened form? Then the definition line should be changed: # andare a fuoco (to be on fire). If it doesn't mean that, then the definition line should be removed. DAVilla 04:28, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

the swimming theory

We took the swimming idea out of the etymology back in March, but I know Ive heard this elsewhere. I thought it was pretty silly at first too, but it definitely isnt just something we made up, and it would help explain the anomalous Catalan form. —Soap— 10:11, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Apparently (see Berndf's link above) arrive has a similar water-related etymology. —Soap— 10:15, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Also, perhaps the andar forms could be from adnato while the anar forms would be from adno. the Italian book linked above doesnt quite make this assertion, but by listing both, it at least seems open. —Soap— 12:56, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

we also list adno as having a generalized "approach" meaning even in Latin. —Soap— 22:27, 1 December 2024 (UTC)