presto

See also: Presto, prestó, prestò, and přesto

English

Etymology

From Italian presto (“quickly”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɛstəʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) enPR: prĕs'tō, IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɛstoʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɛstəʊ

Adverb

presto (not comparable)

1. (music) Very fast or quickly; a directive for the musician(s) to play in a very quick tempo.

Interjection

presto

1. Used by magicians when performing a trick; ta-da; voilà.

   Synonyms: alakazam, hocus-pocus; see also Thesaurus:abracadabra

   So I put my hand into the hat and presto! Out comes a rabbit!

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 31, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 142:

     You know the old man's ivory leg, well I dreamed he kicked me with it ; and when I tried to kick back, upon my soul, my little man, I kicked my leg right off! And then, presto! Ahab seemed a pyramid, and I, like a blazing fool, kept kicking at it.

   • 1975 November 16, “Moment of Truth”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Then comes the chance to become a governess, first in St. John’s Wood, then, in a Sussex country house. And presto! Bronwen is transformed into “a wild tornado” hotly pursued by two Messrs. Right.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

Derived terms

• hey presto
• presto change-o
• presto chango

Translations

used by magicians

• Polish: abrakadabra (pl), bim sala bim, czary-mary, hokus-pokus (pl)
• Portuguese: pronto!

Noun

presto (uncountable)

1. (poker slang) A pair of fives as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. →ISBN

Anagrams

• eSport, opters, tropes, retops, Perots, repots, Petros, e-sport, respot, esport, repost, poster, petros, Strope, stoper, sprote, topers, Portes, opster

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈpɾe̞s.tu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈpɾes.to]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈpɾes.tu]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian presto.

Adverb

presto

1. (music) presto

Noun

presto m (plural prestos)

1. (music) presto (piece played very rapidly)

Etymology 2

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian presto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɛs.to/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adverb

presto

1. (music) presto
2. (colloquial) quickly

Derived terms

• illico presto

Further reading

• “presto”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

Indonesian

Etymology

Possibly a genericized trademark, the word itself is from Italian presto (“quickly”). The pressure cooker sense is calque of Dutch snelkookpan (“pressure cooker”, literally “fast-cook pan”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈprɛsto/ [ˈprɛs.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -ɛsto
• Syllabification: pres‧to

Adjective

presto (comparative lebih presto, superlative paling presto)

1. (music) presto

Noun

presto (plural presto-presto)

1. (cooking) pressure cooker

   Synonyms: panci tekan, periuk tekanan (Malay)

Derived terms

• panci presto

Further reading

• “presto”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈprɛs.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsto
• Hyphenation: prè‧sto

Etymology 1

From Late Latin praestus, from the Latin praestō (“at hand”, adverb). Compare Catalan prest, French prêt.

Adjective

presto (feminine presta, masculine plural presti, feminine plural preste, superlative prestissimo)

1. (literary) ready
2. (literary) fast; quick; nimble
   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 31–33; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Ed ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta, ¶ una lonza leggera e presta molto, ¶ che di pel macolato era coverta; […]

     And lo! almost where the ascent began, a panther light and swift exceedingly, which with a spotted skin was covered o'er!

Descendants

• → French: preste

Adverb

presto

1. soon

   Synonyms: tra poco, fra poco

   Ritorno presto. ― I will be back soon.

   Potrebbe piovere presto. ― It may rain soon.

2. early

   Synonym: di buon'ora

   Non sono abituata a svegliarmi presto. ― I'm not accustomed to getting up early.

   Se ne andarono presto. ― They left early.

3. quickly

   Synonyms: rapidamente, velocemente

   Spero che ti riprenderai presto. ― I hope you'll recover quickly.

4. (music) presto

Derived terms

• a presto
• al più presto
• il più presto possibile
• prestamente
• prestezza
• prestissimo
• presto o tardi

Descendants

• → English: presto
• → Ladino: presto

Etymology 2

Deverbal from prestare (“to lend”) +‎ -o.

Noun

presto m (plural presti) (archaic)

1. loan

   Synonym: prestito

2. usury (practice of lending money at excessive interest rates)

   Synonym: usura

3. pawnshop

   Synonym: banco dei pegni

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestare

Further reading

• “presto¹”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• presto in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Anagrams

• sperto, sporte, spreto, spretò, sprote, sterpo, sterpò

Ladino

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish presto, from Late Latin praestus, from the adverb praestō. Compare Catalan prest, French prêt, Italian presto.

Adjective

presto (Hebrew spelling פריסטו)

1. quick; swift
   • 1996, Sara Benveniste Benrey, edited by Yossi Benbenisty, Espertando el djudeo espanyol: poemas realidas i philosophia, kantes, sketches, piesas de teatro‎^[2], Yossi Benbenisty, page 157:

     Mira, no agas echos prestos i arepentidos, pensa bueno!

     Look, don’t make things quick and contrite, think positive!

   • 1999, Los Muestros‎^[3], numbers 34–6, R. Capuia, page 41:

     En la guerta kemada
     Asentada la fija
     Pasharon prestos
     Apretan su korason.

     In the burnt garden sat the daughter; the quick [ones] passed, [and] they distress her heart.

Adverb

presto (Hebrew spelling פריסטו)

1. soon
   • 1940, La boz de Türkiye‎^[4], numbers 11–34, page 259:

     Para arivar a este resultado, es menester de activar las discusiones y concluir el acordo lo mas presto possible, afin que el fabrikator tenga el tiempo menesterozo : […]

     To arrive at this result, it is necessary to begin the discussions and conclude the agreement as soon as possible so that the producer has the time needed.

2. early
   • 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[5], Nur Afakot, page 36:

     Pensas de no poder eskrivir presto? No emporta. I yo empesí avagar avagar. Tinía katorze anyos. I saves porké para mí fue mas fasil? Porké de la edá de diez anyos yo tanyía el piano.

     You think that you can’t write early? Whatever. I started very slowly. I was fourteen years old. And you know why it was easier for me? Because at age ten I was playing the piano.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto (Hebrew spelling פריסטו)

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar
2. third-person singular preterite indicative of prestar

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian presto (“ready”).

Adverb

presto

1. (music) presto

Noun

presto m (definite singular prestoen, indefinite plural prestoer, definite plural prestoene)

1. music being played presto

Usage notes

• Prior to a revision in 2020, this noun was also considered grammatically neuter.

References

• “presto” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian presto (“ready”).

Adverb

presto

1. (music) presto

Noun

presto m (definite singular prestoen, indefinite plural prestoar, definite plural prestoane)

1. music being played presto

References

• “presto” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin praestus, from the adverb praestō. Cognate with Old Spanish presto.

Adjective

presto

1. quick; swift
2. prepared; ready

Descendants

• Portuguese: presto

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “presto”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “presto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Old Spanish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin praestus, from the adverb praestō. Cognate with Old Galician-Portuguese presto.

Adjective

presto

1. prepared; ready

Adverb

presto

1. soon

Descendants

• Ladino: presto, פריסטו
• Spanish: presto

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946), “presto”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 408

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾɛs.tu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾɛs.tu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾɛʃ.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾɛʃ.tu/

• Rhymes: -ɛstu, -ɛʃtu
• Hyphenation: pres‧to

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese presto, from Late Latin praestus, from the adverb praestō. Compare Catalan prest, French prêt, Italian presto. The meaning pertaining to music comes from Italian presto.

Adjective

presto (feminine presta, masculine plural prestos, feminine plural prestas)

1. quick; swift; prompt
2. ready; prepared

Adverb

presto

1. immediately; promptly
2. right away; at once
3. (music) presto

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

Further reading

• “presto”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “presto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian presto.

Adverb

presto

1. presto

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• prijéstō, prijéstol (Ijekavian)
• pristō, pristol (Ikavian)

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *perstolъ.

Noun

prȅstō m inan (Cyrillic spelling пре̏сто̄)

1. throne

Declension

Declension of presto

	singular	plural
nominative	prestō	prestoli
genitive	prestola	prestola
dative	prestolu	prestolima
accusative	prestō	prestole
vocative	prestole	prestoli
locative	prestolu	prestolima
instrumental	prestolom	prestolima

Derived terms

• prijéstōlje

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɾesto/ [ˈpɾes.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -esto
• Syllabification: pres‧to

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish presto, from Late Latin praestus, from the adverb praestō. Compare Catalan prest, French prêt, Italian presto. The meaning pertaining to music comes from Italian presto.

Adjective

presto (feminine presta, masculine plural prestos, feminine plural prestas)

1. quick; swift; prompt
2. ready; prepared

   Synonym: listo

Adverb

presto

1. immediately; promptly; soon
2. (music) presto
3. right away; at once

Derived terms

• aprestar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

presto

1. first-person singular present indicative of prestar

Further reading

• “presto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025