mantenuto

Mantenuto is an Italian term that functions as the past participle of mantenere and as an adjective meaning “maintained” or “kept.” In standard Italian it describes something that has been preserved or upheld and is used with the auxiliary essere in compound tenses. For example, il ponte è mantenuto in buone condizioni means the bridge has been kept in good condition. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: la casa è mantenuta (the house is kept) and i mobili sono mantenuti (the furniture are kept).

Origin and form: mantenere comes from Latin manū tenēre, “to hold in the hand,” and the participle mantenuto reflects that root. The feminine form is mantenuta, and the plural forms are mantenuti (masculine) and mantenute (feminine).

As a noun, mantenuto or mantenuta can refer to a person who is financially supported by another, often with a pejorative nuance. This colloquial use is found in everyday speech and can carry negative connotations. For example, in a sentence like “È un mantenuto,” the word refers to someone living off someone else.

In other Romance languages, cognate forms exist with related meanings—Spanish mantenido, for instance, conveys maintenance or a kept person in contexts similar to the Italian usage. While mantenuto is primarily Italian, its semantic relatives appear in related languages with parallel roots and meanings.