ritirare

Forms

ritirare (first-person singular present ritìro, first-person singular past historic ritirài, past participle ritiràto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian ri- + tirare, with the prefix in both of its uses: repetition (“pull again”) and movement backwards (“pull back”).^[2][3][4][1] DELI and Nocentini note that the Italian verb took on many of the senses of ritrarre, which continues Latin retrahō (“to draw back”).^[2][5][6] French retirer and Spanish retirar are parallel formations of their own, not the source of the Italian word.^[5]

tirare goes back to Vulgar Latin *tīrāre, a word of spoken Latin whose origin is much discussed and still unclear.^[2][5] Nocentini thinks it probably belongs to the family of Latin terō (“to rub, wear away”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record DELI gives is in Dante's Inferno (1300–1313), in the sense “to draw back”: a sinner turned into a serpent “draws his ears back into his head as the snail does its horns” (e li orecchi ritira per la testa / come face le corna la lumaccia).^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

From “draw back” the verb spread to people and things called back: “to recall” is recorded before 1558 (Bernardo Segni), and the figurative “to revoke, cancel” before 1540 in Guicciardini.^[2] The sense “to collect, have handed over” appears before 1837 in Leopardi, and “to take out of circulation”, said of money, in 1881.^[2] The literal “to pull again” is not recorded until Magalotti, who died in 1712.^[2]

The pronominal ritirarsi took the senses “to step back” (before 1537, Biringuccio), “to fall back before a danger” (before 1570), “to withdraw to a quiet place” (before 1540, Guicciardini) and “to give up taking part” (before 1606, Davanzati), and, of cloth, ritirare came to mean “to shrink” (before 1571, Cellini).^[2] The phrase ritirarsi sull'Aventino recalls the withdrawal of the Roman plebs from the nobles.^[2]

The derivative ritirata “retreat” is recorded before 1540 in Guicciardini.^[2] Its use as a polite word for a lavatory is a calque of French cabinet de retraite, recorded in Boerio's Venetian dictionary in 1829.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1300–1313 – Dante uses ritirare for drawing back the ears.^[2][7]
• Before 1537 – Biringuccio uses ritirarsi for stepping back.^[2]
• Before 1540 – Guicciardini has the figurative sense “revoke” and the noun ritirata.^[2]
• Before 1571 – Cellini uses the verb for cloth that shrinks.^[2]
• 1653 – Ritiro is recorded for leaving an office.^[2]
• Before 1837 – Leopardi uses it for collecting something handed over.^[2]
• 1881 – The sense “take out of circulation” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To draw back or pull in a part of the body: Il gatto ritirò la zampa.^[4][9][10]
2. (transitive) To take something in or put it away under cover: ritirare il bucato dal balcone.^[4][9]
3. (transitive) To recall troops or representatives, to call them back.^[4][9][11]
4. (transitive) To withdraw from circulation or sale.^[4][12][10]
5. (transitive) To revoke a licence or permit.^[4][9]
6. (transitive) To take back or retract a statement, proposal or offer: ritirare la candidatura.^[4][9][11]
7. (transitive) To collect something addressed to one or due to one: ritirare un pacco in posta.^[4][12][11]
8. (transitive) To pull or throw again.^[12][11][1]
9. (intransitive, of cloth) To shrink.^[13][2]
10. (reflexive, as ritirarsi) To step back, to retreat before a danger.^[11][14]
11. (reflexive, as ritirarsi) To go home for the night, or to withdraw to a secluded place.^[11][14]
12. (reflexive, as ritirarsi) To retire from an activity, or to drop out of a competition.^[2][13]

Word family

• ritirata
• ritirato
• ritiro
• ritiramento

Related words

• tirare
• ritrarre
• French retirer

Usage notes

In Italian ritirata is also the bugle call and the soldiers' return to barracks after leave.^[2]

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