rifiutare Italian · revision 38222

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=late 13th century, Novellino|origins=la refūtō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ri.fjuˈta.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rifiutare''' (first-person singular present rifiùto, first-person singular past historic rifiutài, past participle rifiutàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old form [[roa-oit|rifutare]] lacks the ⟨i⟩.^(Prati 1951|839)^(REW 1935) Battaglia lists old and dialect forms such as ''refiudare'', ''refudare'' and ''rifrutare''.^(GDLI|16) Northern dialects keep forms without the ⟨i⟩, such as [[vec|refudar]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the popular outcome, [[inh|la|refūtō|t=to check, repel; to refute]], whose ⟨i⟩ is usually put down to the influence of [[fiutare|t=to sniff]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Prati 1951|839)^(Wiktionary) DELI calls that influence hard to explain and reports other proposals: Spitzer (1940) suggested [[la-vul|*refugitō|alt=*refugitāre]] “to put to flight”, a hunters' word, passing through ⟨refuitare⟩ and ⟨refiutare⟩, and Tilander a [[m|la-vul|*refutulō|alt=*refutulāre]] beside the classical verb, through ⟨*refutlare⟩ and ⟨*reflutare⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|16) Sabatini–Coletti call the ⟨i⟩ an inserted vowel of uncertain origin.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ The Latin verb is formed with [[m|la|re-|t=back]] and a [[m|la|*futō|t=to beat]] known only from compounds such as [[m|la|cōnfūtō]], of uncertain connections.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The learned [[refutare]] is its doublet.^(Wiktionary) [[fr|refuser]] and [[es|rehusar]] were reshaped after [[la|recūsō|t=to refuse]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the ''Novellino'', of the late 13th century, in the sense “not to accept”: “Tali rifiutaro, e tai consentiro” (“some refused, and some agreed”).^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses the verb for not bearing or enduring (1313–1319), and in the ''Purgatorio'' for giving up something one has: “Libertà va cercando, ch’è sì cara, / come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta” (“He goes seeking freedom, which is so dear, as he knows who gives up life for it”).^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The noun ''rifiuto'' “refusal” goes back to Dante too.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The sense “to deny, not to grant” appears in the Milanese press of 1801, and was called a Gallicism in 1926;^(DELI 1999) DELI explains that when the purists spoke of French influence on ''rifiutare'' they meant these newer senses, modelled on [[m|fr|refuser]].^(DELI 1999) The reflexive ''rifiutarsi di'' “to refuse to” is recorded before 1602, and the sense “not to want to do” in 1891.^(DELI 1999) The plural ''rifiuti'' came to mean “rubbish, waste” by 1959.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Specialised senses include a horse that refuses a jump (''rifiutare l'ostacolo''), a hound that ignores other game, a card player who does not follow a partner's suit, and a wind that shifts against a sailing boat's course.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 13th century – The ''Novellino'' has ''rifiutaro'' “they refused”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the noun ''rifiuto''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1313–1319 – Dante uses the verb for “not to bear”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1566 – ''Rifiutabile'' appears in Annibal Caro.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1602 – The reflexive ''rifiutarsi'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1801 – The sense “to deny” appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1959 – ''Rifiuti'' “rubbish” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|refuse]] or [[m|en|reject]] what is offered: ''Ha rifiutato il lavoro che gli avevano proposto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To deny, not to grant: ''Gli hanno rifiutato il visto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To be unwilling to do something (followed by ''di''): ''Ha rifiutato di firmare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # To be unable to tolerate, of the body: ''Il suo stomaco rifiuta il latte.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(literary)'' To renounce something one has, or to [[m|en|disown]] a person or one's own writings.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport)'' Of a horse, to stop at a fence without jumping it.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(nautical)'' Of the wind, to shift against a boat's course.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rifiuto]]

+ * [[rifiutabile]]

+ * [[rifiutatore]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[refutare]]

+ * [[confutare]]

+ * [[fiutare]]

+ * [[la|refūtō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Rifiutarsi di'' “to refuse to” is the usual reflexive construction.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) A separate, rare verb ''rifiutare'' “to sniff again” is formed from ''fiutare'' with ''ri-'' and is recorded in 1872.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI|16)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}