ricorrente

Forms

ricorrente (plural ricorrenti)^[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle, used as an adjective and a noun, from Italian ricorrere (“to run back; to recur; to appeal”).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary gives it as a borrowing of Latin recurrēns, and DEI treats the medical and anatomical adjective as a learned word from the scientific Latin of the same form.^[1][6]

The verb is recurrō (“to run back, return”), formed with re- from currō (“to run”); its participle recursus already meant “return” in classical Latin and “appeal” in late legal Latin, which gave Italian ricorso.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is a noun in Marco Palescandolo, before 1622, for a person to whom another turns in a matter of payment through agents abroad.^[2][7] The GDLI gives this first sense as “one who turns to another for help”, a petitioner.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective “recurring” is in Anton Maria Salvini before 1729, and malattia ricorrente, an illness that returns with the same features, in 1734.^[2] Doctors spoke of recurring heartburn and jaundice, and anatomists of nervi ricorrenti.^[8] In 1831 Lissoni condemned its use in the sense of occorrere (“to be needed”).^[2]

The legal noun, “a person who lodges an appeal”, appears in the acts of the Cisalpine Republic in 1797 and in the bulletin of laws of the Italian Republic in 1802.^[2][7] Motivo ricorrente, a theme that keeps returning in a piece of music or writing, is dated 1965.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1622 – Marco Palescandolo uses ricorrente as a noun.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses it for “recurring”.^[2]
• 1734 – Malattia ricorrente is recorded.^[2]
• 1797 – The legal noun appears in the acts of the Cisalpine Republic.^[2]
• 1965 – Motivo ricorrente is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. recurring, coming back at regular intervals: spese ricorrenti.^[9][4][5]
2. Frequent, coming up again and again: È un errore ricorrente nei suoi compiti.^[9][4]
3. (architecture) Of a frieze or ornament, running along or repeated at intervals in space.^[9][4][10]
4. (medicine) Of a disease, coming back with the same features: febbre ricorrente.^[9][4][11]
5. (anatomy) nervo ricorrente, the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which runs back up from the chest to the larynx.^[4][11][10]
6. (mathematics) Recursive (ricorsivo).^[9][5][11]
7. (law) That has lodged an appeal: la parte ricorrente.^[9][4][5]

Noun

1. (law) A person who lodges a ricorso with an administrative or judicial authority; an appellant or plaintiff.^[9][12][1]

Word family

• ricorrentemente

Related words

• ricorrere
• ricorrenza
• ricorso
• correre
• Latin recurrō

Usage notes

The GDLI records a separate old noun ricorrente (also ricorente), the same as corrente, a roof timber, in builders' accounts; it explains it as corrente with an intensive prefix.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3249
7. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 149
8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana