sottostare

Sottostare is an Italian verb meaning to be subject to something, to fall under a rule, jurisdiction, or authority, or to be subordinate in rank or condition. It is often used in formal or legal contexts to indicate that what follows must comply with a higher authority or set of conditions.

Etymology and sense development: the term derives from sotto, meaning under, combined with stare, to stand. The sense centers on standing under the control or influence of an external factor, such as a law, regulation, or decision. It can be compared with related expressions like essere soggetto a or essere sottoposto a, which convey similar ideas of compliance or subordination.

Usage and collocations: sottostare is typically followed by a preposition such as a or alle/norme/regolamenti/obblighi/condizioni. Common phrases include sottostare alle norme, alle leggi, ai regolamenti, o alle condizioni di un contratto. The verb is more frequent in formal or administrative language than in everyday speech. It can also be used in a figurative sense, as in sottostare al giudizio o all’opinione di qualcuno.

Conjugation and forms: sottostare is an -are verb and follows a standard finite conjugation pattern. In compound tenses it uses the auxiliary essere, with the past participle sottostato (and agreeing in gender and number, sottostato / sottostata / sottostati / sottostate). The gerund is sottostando.

Notes: Sottostare contrasts with sottomettere (to subjugate, to force) and with sottomettere-se to submit others. In many contexts, especially everyday language, the more common alternative is essere soggetto a.