adottato

Adottato is the past participle of the Italian verb adottare, meaning to adopt. In Italian, adottato can function as an adjective meaning adopted, as in un figlio adottato (an adopted child) or una pratica/una norma adottata (an adopted practice or a passed rule). It also appears in compound tenses with the auxiliary avere (ho adottato) to denote an action completed in the past. In passive or periphrastic constructions, the passive form can use essere (è stato adottato), for example indicating that someone or something has been adopted or accepted.

Etymology and origin: adotare derives from Latin adoptare, itself formed from ad- (toward) and optare (to choose). The term historically reflects the act of choosing someone to bring into one’s family or household, and from there it broadened to include measures, ideas, or policies that are taken up or accepted.

Usage and agreement: adottato agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies: adottato (masc sing), adottata (fem sing), adottati (masc pl), adottate (fem pl). In legal or formal contexts, it commonly appears in phrases such as "figlio adottato" (adopted son) or "normativa adottata" (adopted regulation). As a noun, l’adottato is used in some contexts to refer to an adopted person, though more often the noun arises as a noun phrase like “un bambino adottato.”

See also: adoption, adozione internazionale, adottare, normativa adottata.