Spegnersi

Spegnersi is an Italian pronominal verb that can mean to extinguish oneself, to go out or to stop functioning, and it can also be used figuratively to denote fading away or dying. It derives from spegnere (to extinguish, to switch off) and is primarily intransitive, often used with the subject causing the action to happen to itself. In everyday language it covers both literal and metaphorical meanings: a lamp can go out, a device can shut off, a person can die or fade away.

In literal usage, spegnersi describes lights, flames, or machines stopping their emission or operation. For example: La lampada si è spenta. The lamp went out. Il motore si è spento. The engine stopped. In figurative use it can describe the end of a life or a decline in vitality or importance, as in: Il cantante si è spento dopo anni di successi.

Grammatical notes: spegnersi is conjugated with the auxiliary essere in compound tenses, and the past participle agrees with the subject: la luce si è spenta, i dispositivi si sono spenti. The present tense forms are: io mi spengo, tu ti spegni, lui si spegne, noi ci spegniamo, voi vi spegnete, loro si spengono.

See also: spegnimento, spegnimento automatico, interruttore, morte (figurative expressions).