Etymologically
Log in

ritorno

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 21 October 2026 at 21:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /riˈtor.no/[1]

Forms

ritorno m (plural ritorni)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun formed from ritornare (“to return”).[2][3][4][5][6] The verb is tornare (“to return”) with the iterative prefix ri-, and ritornello is a diminutive of the noun.[2][3] That verb continues Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), which DELI thinks adapted from the Greek verb for the same craft.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates a particular, figurative use to Brunetto Latini before 1294, and the general sense, the act of returning, to Dante, before 1321.[2][4] In the Paradiso some of the jackdaws rising at dawn “go away without return” (vanno via sanza ritorno).[7]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo records ritorno as a Tuscan contraction of the participle ritornato as well as the noun.[8] The sense “giving back” (il ritorno dei libri) is regional and has been criticised by purists.[2][9] Ritorno di fiamma, a backfire and figuratively a revived love, translates French retour de flamme.[2][10]

Modern phrases include andata e ritorno (there and back; a return ticket), essere di ritorno (to be back), punto di non ritorno, from aviation, analfabetismo di ritorno (relapse into illiteracy) and eterno ritorno, the eternal return.[11][10][5] In sport the girone di ritorno is the second half of a season and the partita di ritorno the return match.[4] In economics ritorno is the return on an investment, and ritorno d'immagine the gain in public image from sponsoring something, recorded in 1992.[4][12]

Timeline

  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses the word in a figurative sense.[2]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses it for the act of returning.[2]
  • 1992 – Ritorno d'immagine appears in the Corriere della Sera.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. return, the act of coming or going back, especially home: Al ritorno dalle ferie abbiamo trovato la cantina allagata.[4][5][13][1]
  2. (figurative) A turning back of the mind to the past: un ritorno all'infanzia.[4][10]
  3. A return to an activity, a comeback: il ritorno in campo del capitano.[4][1]
  4. The recurrence of a season, a phenomenon or a condition: il ritorno delle piogge.[4][13]
  5. (sports) The second leg of a tie, the return match or second half of a season.[4][1]
  6. (economics) Yield, return on an investment; by extension a positive effect of an action.[4][13]
  7. (regional) Restitution, giving back.[5][13][9]
  8. (technical) Movement in the opposite direction, or back to the normal position; also feedback.[13][4][1]

Usage notes

In Swiss Italian ritorno also means the change given after a payment, borrowed from French retour.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 972
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse