reagire Italian · revision 39252

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1766|origins=la agō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /re.aˈd͡ʒi.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''reagire''' (first-person singular present reagìsco, first-person singular past historic reagìi, past participle reagìto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|reagō|t=to drive back]], a Late Latin verb first used by Avienus in the 4th century, with its conjugation and stress remade on [[agire]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The Late Latin verb lived on in the Medieval Latin of the Schoolmen, and, from the 17th century both the Italian verb and [[fr|réagir]] spread through the language of philosophers and scientists.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) In 1784 a French critic still used the verb of the relation between writers and their public with the remark that he was speaking “the modern language”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The sources weigh the routes differently: DEI calls the Italian verb a Gallicism spread by Voltaire,^(DEI|3215) the GDLI allows for French influence on an Italian formation,^(GDLI|15, 601) and Devoto–Oli, Zingarelli, Treccani and Gabrielli simply analyse it as a derivative of that verb with the prefix [[re-]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Latin verb is [[m|la|agō|t=to drive, do]] with the prefix [[m|la|re-]].^(Nocentini 2010) The simple verb continues [[ine-pro|*h₂eǵ-|t=to drive, lead]], the root of [[grc|ἄγω|tr=ágō]] and [[sa|अजति|tr=ájati]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Melchiorre Cesarotti, who died in 1808, for acting against something, answering a force or an offence with an action of one's own.^(DELI 1999) In a passage the GDLI quotes, Cesarotti explains ''riflettere'' as “to fold back and react upon the objects or ideas that strike us” (''ripiegarsi e reagire sopra gli oggetti o le idee che ci colpiscono'').^(GDLI|15, 601) The chemical sense, to take part in a reaction, follows in 1844 in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1872 Tommaseo complained that the verb was overused, because the physical sciences had invaded the realm of the mind; he also preferred ''reagire'' to the older ''riagire'', whose prefix seemed to him to suggest repetition.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999) The noun [[reazione]] is older than the verb: it is recorded before 1348 in Jacopo Alighieri and was formed on [[azione]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ Several derivatives came through French in the 18th and 19th centuries.^(DELI 1999) [[reazionario]] (1841) copies [[fr|réactionnaire]], coined in 1796 after ''révolutionnaire'', and [[reattore]] reflects [[m|fr|réacteur]]; it took on new life as a jet engine in 1952 and as a nuclear reactor in 1955 under English influence.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The chemist's [[reagente]] is recorded from 1804.^(DELI 1999)

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+ Today the verb is used most of a person who answers an offence or faces a hardship, and of an organism that responds to a stimulus or to treatment;^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Devoto–Oli also records a sporting sense, to answer an opponent's attack by attacking.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1766 – Zingarelli's date for ''reagire''.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * 1785 – Nocentini's and Devoto–Oli's date for the verb.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ * Before 1808 – Melchiorre Cesarotti uses ''reagire'', the first record in DELI.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1841 – ''Reazionario'' appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1844 – The chemical sense is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1872 – Tommaseo's dictionary criticises the overuse of the verb.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To respond with an action of one's own to an offence, a violence or a provocation, trying to [[m|en|resist]] it; also used without an object: ''Lo hanno insultato, ma lui non ha reagito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To face pain, grief or a hardship actively, without giving in: ''Dopo la sconfitta la squadra ha saputo reagire.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Of an organ or organism, to [[m|en|respond]] to a stimulus or to treatment: ''La ferita non reagisce alla cura.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sport)'' To answer an opponent's action by attacking.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(physics)'' Of a force, to act in the opposite direction to another force.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' To take part in a chemical [[m|en|reaction]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reazione]]

+ * [[reagente]]

+ * [[reattivo]]

+ * [[reattività]]

+ * [[reattore]]

+ * [[reazionario]]

+ * [[reattanza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[agire]]

+ * [[azione]]

+ * [[fr|réagir]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}