divenire

Divenire is an Italian verb meaning to become or to come into being. It is primarily found in literary, philosophical, and theological writing, where it expresses processual change and the transition from one state to another. In everyday Italian, the verb is largely supplanted by diventare, which covers most common uses of “to become.”

Etymology and sense: Divenire derives from Latin venire with a prefix that intensifies or modifies the sense of coming into existence. In addition to its verbal form, divenire exists as a noun: il divenire, referring to becoming as a concept or process. This noun is frequently used in philosophical and historical discourse to discuss change over time.

Usage and grammar: The infinitive is divenire. The verb is considered irregular for Italian, and its present forms are encountered mainly in formal or literary contexts. In modern usage, speakers often prefer diventare, reserving divenire for more abstract or rhetorical purposes. The past participle is divenuto, and in compound tenses it is typically used with the auxiliary essere to indicate a change of state (for example, è divenuto). In philosophical language, phrases such as il divenire or divenire storico are common to denote becoming as an ongoing process rather than a finished result.

Examples and context: Divenire appears in expressions like il divenire della realtà, describing how things come into being, or in discussions of historical development, where the emphasis is on change over time. It remains a recognized term in classical or high-register Italian and is often contrasted with the more concrete and everyday sense of diventare.

See also: diventare, il divenire.