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riprovare

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word riprovare

riprovare1 try again

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1294 before 1294, Guittone d'Arezzo
Ultimate origins
Proto-Italic *wre,*pro-f(w)-o-Proto-Indo-European *-ō
Etymology tree of riprovare1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin probus
Latin probō
French prouver
Italian provare
Italian riprovare
Spanish probar
Dutch proberen
Hungarian próbál
From the same root · riprovare1
Latin improbus ← probus
Latin probē ← probus
Latin probitās ← probus
French preuve ← probō
Latin approbō ← probō
Latin comprobō ← probō
Latin proba ← probō
Latin probābilis ← probō
Latin probātiō ← probō
Latin probātor ← probō
Latin probātus ← probō
Latin reprobō ← probō
French éprouver ← prouver
Italian prova ← provare
Spanish prueba ← probar

Pronunciation

  • /ri.proˈva.re/[1]

Forms

riprovare (first-person singular present ripròvo, first-person singular past historic riprovài, past participle riprovàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

The word for trying again is formed from Italian ri- + provare, with the prefix of repetition.[2][3][1][4] The simple verb is from Latin probō (“to test”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, with the sense “try again”.[2][6] The sense “put to the test” is in Giordano da Pisa (1304–1305), and the intransitive “try again to get into something” in Boccaccio (1348–1353).[2]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio has the doubled provando e riprovando of trying something again and again, and the same words became the motto of the Accademia del Cimento, the 17th-century Florentine society for experiments.[7][6] The sense “prove further” that DELI notes in Belcari before 1484 rests on an uncertain example.[2] Older uses include testing coins.[3][8]

The noun riprova, a new test to confirm an earlier one, is found as ripruova before 1479 and as riprova before 1543;[2] a riprova “in confirmation” is recorded in 1939–1940.[2] The colloquial riprovarci is to try again, also to make another advance to someone.[9]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses the verb.[2]
  • 1304–1305 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for putting to the test.[2]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses the intransitive “try again”.[2]
  • Before 1479 – The noun ripruova is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To try again; to try on a garment again: Prima di comprarla, riprovo la giacca.[3][10][11]
  2. (transitive) To feel again a sensation or emotion.[3][10][11]
  3. (transitive) To confirm, prove further.[10][11][12]
  4. (transitive, archaic) To test a coin.[3][8]
  5. (intransitive, also riprovarsi) To make another attempt: Riproviamo a chiamarlo stasera.[3][9][13]

Word family

  • riprova
  • riprovarci

riprovare2 disapprove

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1268
Borrowed from
Latin reprobo
Ultimate origin
Latin probus
Etymology tree of riprovare2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin probus
Latin probō
French prouver
Italian provare
Spanish probar
Dutch proberen
Hungarian próbál
Latin reprobō
Italian riprovare
Spanish reprobar
From the same root · riprovare2
Latin improbus ← probus
Latin probē ← probus
Latin probitās ← probus
French preuve ← probō
Latin approbō ← probō
Latin comprobō ← probō
Latin proba ← probō
Latin probābilis ← probō
Latin probātiō ← probō
Latin probātor ← probō
Latin probātus ← probō
French éprouver ← prouver
Italian prova ← provare
Spanish prueba ← probar
Latin reprobus ← reprobō

Pronunciation

  • /ri.proˈva.re/[1]

Forms

riprovare (first-person singular present ripròvo, first-person singular past historic riprovài, past participle riprovàto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

The word for disapproving is a learned borrowed from Late Latin reprobō (“to reject, condemn”), formed with re- on probō (“to find good, approve”), from probus (“good”).[2][14][3][1][4] DELI glosses the Latin as “find good the other way round”; in Christian times it took the legal sense “reject, condemn” and then “disapprove”.[2] GRADIT sees the influence of provare in the Italian form.[3] Late Latin also had reprobātiō and reprobābilis.[2]

The same Latin verb gave Spanish reprobar and Old Occitan reprovar.[14][5] Older Italian forms are reprovare, reprobare and riprobare.[9][11][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to 1268.[9] DELI finds reprovare and reprobare in Iacopone, before 1306, who writes “Amor che non è iusto da Deo è reprovato” (love that is not just is rejected by God).[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Dante (1304–1308) the verb has the technical sense of the Scholastics, “to refute, argue against”: he promises to treat the true and then “riprovare lo falso”.[2][3] The sense “disapprove, reject” is in Giovanni Villani before 1348.[2] School usage of failing a pupil is recorded in 1939–1940.[2]

Riprovazione is in Dante, with reprobassione already in Guittone, and riprovevole in 1831, preceded by riprovabile in 1797.[2]

Timeline

  • 1268 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.[9]
  • Before 1306 – Iacopone uses reprovare and reprobare.[2]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for refuting an argument.[2]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for disapproving.[2]
  • 1831 – Riprovevole is recorded.[2]
  • 1939–1940 – The school sense “fail” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To disapprove of strongly; to condemn: Tutti riprovarono quelle parole offensive.[3][10][11]
  2. (transitive, dated) To fail a pupil in an examination.[3][10][13]
  3. (transitive, archaic) To refute, show to be false.[3][10][11]
  4. (transitive, literary) To disown a piece of writing.[13]

Word family

  • riprovazione
  • riprovevole
  • riprovatore
  • riprovabile
  • riprovamento

Usage notes

The motto provando e riprovando comes from Dante's line “provando e riprovando, il dolce aspetto”;[8][6] Treccani reads the verb there as “refuting”, the second homograph, while the GDLI files the line under the first.[8][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  7. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
  9. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  14. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Riprovare.” Etymologically, 10 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/it/riprovare. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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