citato

Citato is a term in Italian with several overlapping uses centered on the idea of citing or summoning. In most common usage it functions as the masculine singular past participle of the verb citare (to cite). As an adjective, citato designates something that has been cited or quoted, such as in bibliographic notes or textual references. In legal Italian, citato can also refer to a person who has been summoned or cited to appear in court, for example la persona citata (the summoned person) or chi è citato in giudizio (the party cited to appear in judgment).

Etymology and cognates: Citato derives from Latin citatus, the past participle of citare, which means to summon, call, or quote. In many Romance languages closely related forms exist; for instance, Spanish used citad o and Portuguese citado, both meaning cited or summoned. The noun form citazione in Italian more commonly denotes the act or instance of citing a source.

Usage notes: In scholarly writing Italian often uses phrases such as opere citate (cited works) or pagine citate (cited pages) to indicate cross-references. The adjective agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies: citato, citata, citati, citate. The noun form citazione is frequently preferred when referring to the act or unit of citation rather than to the cited item itself.

See also: citazione, citare, citazione bibliografica.