ritrovare

Forms

ritrovare (first-person singular present ritròvo, first-person singular past historic ritrovài, past participle ritrovàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian ri- + trovare, with the prefix of repetition.^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini notes that the prefix gives both “to find something one had lost” and “to find something new after a search”, and that French retrouver is a parallel formation of its own, not the model of the Italian word.^[3] Older forms were Old Italian retrovare and Old Italian ritruovare.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni's Della miseria dell'uomo, before 1292, with the sense “to find again a lost thing, or a person not seen for a long time”.^[2] Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti date the verb to the 13th century.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The reflexive use appeared early: “to come to be in a situation unexpectedly” in Dante (1300–1313), the opening of the Commedia (mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, “I found myself in a dark wood”), and “to be together again” in Francesco da Barberino, before 1348.^[2][9] The sense “to find again” is recorded in Vasari (1550), “to discover after a laborious search” in Francesco Lana (1670), and “to get one's bearings” in Giovan Battista Fagiuoli, before 1742.^[2] The reciprocal “to meet again” is first recorded by Palazzi (1939–1940).^[2]

Derivatives have their own histories: ritrovatore “finder” (1303–1306, Giordano da Pisa), ritrovamento “finding” (1505, Bembo), ritrovato as a noun “invention, discovery” (1589, Bernardino Baldi) and later “expedient” (before 1786, Gasparo Gozzi), and ritrovo “gathering for pleasure” (1539, Alessandro Piccolomini) and “meeting place” (1574, Granucci).^[2] In modern colloquial use ritrovarsi can mean “to find oneself having”, often of something unwelcome.^[10][9]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses ritrovare for finding a lost thing again.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses the reflexive “to find oneself (somewhere)”.^[2]
• 1303–1306 – Ritrovatore appears in Giordano da Pisa.^[2]
• 1505 – Bembo uses ritrovamento.^[2]
• 1539 – Ritrovo is first recorded.^[2]
• 1589 – Ritrovato is used as a noun for a discovery.^[2]
• 1939–1940 – Palazzi records ritrovarsi “to meet again”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To find again; to meet again, in the same place: Ogni mattina ritrovo sul treno gli stessi pendolari.^[4][10][1]
2. To recover something one had lost, or to track down a person one had lost touch with: Ho ritrovato gli occhiali sotto il divano.^[4][7][8]
3. To find or discover after research or an investigation.^[4][8]
4. (figurative) To regain a state of body or mind: ritrovare la calma, le forze.^[4][7][9]
5. To recognise one thing or person in another: In questa bambina ritrovo sua nonna.^[4][11]
6. To find something or someone in a different state from the one expected.^[4]
7. (reflexive) To find oneself, often unexpectedly, in a place or situation; to meet again (reciprocal); to get one's bearings.^[8][10][9]
8. (reflexive, colloquial) To find oneself having something: Con il raffreddore che si ritrova, non può uscire.^[10][9][1]

Word family

• ritrovamento
• ritrovato
• ritrovatore
• ritrovo
• ritrovabile

Related words

• trovare
• French retrouver

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 996
6. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli