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passanti
passati
pr 3rd pl of passati (verb)
- sees
- understands; gets; lit. sees
- finds; encounters; meets with; lit. sees
- looks at; observes; examines; inspects; lit. sees
Built from
- pas — root · see, perceive
The concrete image is sight—things coming into view, becoming visible. Cognates: Latin patēre (to lie open, be exposed to view), Greek phanai (to show, reveal), suggesting the Indo-European root *spek- or *pas- meaning to see or shine forth.
- sa — ending · present 3rd plural
The present stem marker -sa- with third person plural ending -nti marks an active present indicative statement of what agents do habitually or are doing now.
Etymology. √pas (to see), cognate with Latin patēre (to lie open, be visible), Greek phanai (to show), English "pass" (originally to go visibly); the root's spatial sense "to come into view" underlies the semantic range from visual perception to intellectual comprehension.