Italian

Adjective

avanti ‎(invariable)

1. (dated, of time units, succeeds noun) previous, prior, last

   La settimana avanti.‎

   Last week.

Adverb

avanti

1. forward, ahead, onward
   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Inferno, Le Monnier (1994), Canto XXI, p. 321 vv. 91-93:

     Per ch'io mi mossi e a lui venni ratto, ¶ e i diavoli si fecer tutti avanti, ¶ sì ch'io temetti ch'ei tenesser patto; [...]

     Wherefore I started and came swiftly to him, ¶ and all the devils forward thrust themselves, ¶ so that I feared they would not keep their compact; [...]

2. (dated, rare) before, ere (followed by di or che)

   Deve pensare molto avanti di decidere.‎

   He needs to think a lot before deciding.

   • 1321, Dante Alighieri, La divina commedia: Inferno, Le Monnier (1994), Canto III, p. 45 vv. 118-120:

     Così sen vanno su per l'onda bruna, ¶ e avanti che sien di là discese, ¶ anche di qua nuova schiera s'auna.

     So they depart across the dusky wave, ¶ and ere upon the other side they land ¶ again on this side a new troop assembles.

3. (dated, rare) rather than (followed by che)

   Vorrei morire avanti che commettere una simile azione.‎

   I'd rather die than doing such a thing.

Derived terms

• d'ora in avanti ‎(“from now on”)
• avantieri / avant'ieri ‎(“day before yesterday”)

Interjection

avanti!

1. come in!
2. come on! (expressing encouragement)

Preposition

avanti

1. (dated, rare) before, in front of (a place) (may or may not be followed by a)

   Avanti a lui.‎

   In front of him.

   Avanti casa.‎

   In front of the house.

2. (dated) before (in time)

   Avanti l'alba.‎

   Before dawn.

Synonyms

• (1, more common): davanti, dinanzi, innanzi
• (2, more common): prima; (rare): innanzi

Derived terms

• avanti Cristo - before Christ

Noun

avanti m ‎(plural avanti)

1. (soccer, rugby, waterpolo) player whose main objective is scoring points; forward

References

1. ↑ Angelo Prati, "Vocabolario Etimologico Italiano", Torino, 1951

Anagrams

• avinta
• nativa
• vanità
• vantai