rifulgere

Forms

rifulgere (first-person singular present rifùlgo, first-person singular past historic rifùlsi, no past participle)^[1] An old form is refulgere.^[2][3][4][1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin refulgeō (“to shine back, shine brightly”), from re- and fulgeō (“to shine”).^{[5][6][2][3][1]} The Italian verb took the stress and conjugation of fulgere, whose Latin source had a by-form of the third conjugation beside the usual second.^[5][3][7] The same Latin verb gave Spanish refulgir, Portuguese refulgir and Catalan refulgir.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dante, before 1321, with the sense “to shine brightly”, especially figuratively.^[5][6] In the Paradiso Cunizza says qui refulgo (“here I shine”) because the light of the planet overcame her, and God's judgement is said to shine down (rifulge) from the Thrones.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch has the form refulse of a gentle speech in which honesty shone clearly.^[8][4] The verb has always been mainly literary, and figurative uses, of glory, virtue or fame, are more common than the literal one.^[4][8] The past participle rifulso and the compound tenses are rare.^[2][4][9] The present participle rifulgente is often used as an adjective, “shining, bright”.^[4][10]

Timeline

• Before 1321 – Dante uses refulgo and rifulge.^[5][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, literary) To shine with a bright light, glow, risplendere: la luna rifulgeva sul lago.^{[11][2][3][4]}
2. (figurative) To show a feeling or quality very strongly; with di: il suo volto rifulgeva di felicità.^[2][3][11]
3. (figurative) To stand out, be conspicuous: of fame, glory or virtue.^[2][4][9]

Word family

• rifulgente
• rifulgenza

Related words

• fulgere
• fulgore
• Latin refulgeo

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 371
8. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ a b De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET