affidare

Affidare is a transitive Italian verb meaning to entrust or to commit something to someone’s care. It can also appear in the reflexive form, affidarsi, which means to rely on, to place one’s trust in someone or something.

Usage and meaning: Affidare typically takes a direct object for the thing being entrusted and a recipient introduced by a or to indicate who receives it. For example, affido il progetto al team (I entrust the project to the team). The reflexive affi darsi expresses dependence or trust in a person or resource, as in mi affido al giudizio del medico or mi affido a te.

Etymology: The verb derives from a Latin or early Italian root related to fid- (trust), with the prefix ad- or a assimilated form af-, yielding the sense of placing something in someone’s trust.

Conjugation and forms: Affidare is a regular -are verb. Present indicative forms include: affido, affidi, affida, affidiamo, affidate, affidano. The passato prossimo is formed with avere: ho affidato. Other tenses follow the standard -are conjugation patterns, including imperfect: affidavo, affidavi, affidava, affidavamo, affidavate, affidavano; future: affiderò, affiderai, affiderà, affideremo, affiderete, affideranno. The participle is affidato and the gerund is affidando.

Usage notes: Affidare emphasizes transferring responsibility or confidence to someone else, often for tasks, documents, or objects. Related terms include consegnare (to hand over), confidare (to confide), and rimettere (to put back or entrust). The verb is common in business, legal, and everyday contexts where trust and responsibility are involved. Examples: abbiamo affidato l’incarico al responsabile; mi affido al tuo giudizio.