riuscire

Forms

riuscire (first-person singular present rièsco, first-person singular past historic riuscìi, past participle riuscìto, auxiliary èssere)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian ri- + uscire, with the prefix in its repetitive sense (“to go out again”) or as an intensive.^[2][3][1] Nocentini starts from the early senses “to come out at a place” and “to have an outcome”, from which came “to have a good outcome, succeed”.^[4]

The base verb continues Latin exeō (“to go out”), with its ⟨u-⟩ taken from uscio (“door”).^[5][6] DEI notes that Tuscan speech has levelled the alternation between ⟨riesco⟩ and ⟨riuscire⟩, as in Pistoiese ⟨riusco⟩.^[7]

French réussir was borrowed from the Italian verb.^[4][5][1] It is recorded from 1531.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The LEI's earliest record is in a Tuscan translation of Albertano da Brescia by Andrea da Grosseto (1268), where the verb means “to leave a place”.^[6] DELI's earliest dated sense is “to have good fortune, succeed”, in Chiaro Davanzati in the 13th century;^[2][3] GRADIT dates the word from Dante's Commedia (1313–1319), where it means “to come out at a place, lead to”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the verb meant going out again or by another way, as in Boccaccio, and of events and undertakings having an outcome, good or bad, as in Giovanni Villani before 1348.^[2][6] Used absolutely for “to work out well” it is in the 1532 edition of Ariosto's Orlando furioso;^[2] Francesco Guicciardini (before 1540) uses it for “to turn out to be”.^[2]

The modern modal use, being able to do something, appears in Benvenuto Cellini before 1571, and the sense “to have an aptitude” in 1557;^[2] Tommaseo–Bellini (1872) records it for a person reaching an aim.^[2] The noun riuscita “outcome” is in Giovanni Villani, and “good result” in Paolo Giovio before 1552.^[2]

French took réussir in the 16th century, first for something turning out a certain way (1531), then for a good outcome (1540) and for a person's success (1624).^[8]

Timeline

• 1268 – A Tuscan translation of Albertano da Brescia uses riuscire for leaving a place.^[6]
• 13th century – Chiaro Davanzati uses it for having success.^[2]
• 1313–1319 – Dante uses it for coming out at a place.^[2][3]
• Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for the outcome of events, and the noun riuscita.^[2]
• 1362–1364 – Boccaccio uses it for going out again.^[2]
• 1531 – French réussir is first recorded.^[8]
• 1532 – Ariosto uses it absolutely for working out well.^[2]
• Before 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini uses it for being able to do something.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To manage, to be able, followed by a and an infinitive: Non riesco a dormire con questo caldo.^[3][9][10]
2. To succeed, to have a good outcome, of things; of people, to do well, in a field or in life.^[3][9][11]
3. To turn out, to end up in a certain way, often with bene or male or a predicate: Il dolce è riuscito troppo asciutto.^[3][11][1]
4. To prove to be, to become; also to be placed in a ranking.^[3][9][1]
5. To have an aptitude for something.^[3][12]
6. To go out again, or to come out by another way than the one by which one entered.^[3][10][12]
7. (uncommon) Of a road or passage, to come out, lead somewhere; figuratively, to be getting at something.^[3][10][12]

Word family

• riuscita
• riuscito

Related words

• uscire
• uscita
• French réussir

Usage notes

The verb is conjugated like uscire (riesco, riesci, riusciamo) and takes essere.^[1][11][12] A popular form riescire also exists.^[9][10][12] In the impersonal use the person is the indirect object: non mi riesce di … “I can't manage to …”.^[10][11]

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 i j k l m n o 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 De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 22, 291
7. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3268
8. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana