fermé

Fermò is the third-person singular form of the Italian verb fermare in the passato remoto, the literary past tense. It translates to "he stopped" or "she stopped" in English. The form is used mainly in written narratives, especially historical or fictional works, rather than in everyday conversation where the passato prossimo (ha fermato) is more common.

In terms of conjugation, fermare is a regular -are verb. The passato remoto endings for this verb are: io fermai, tu fermasti, lui/lei fermò, noi fermammo, voi fermaste, loro fermarono. The accent on fermò marks the stress and distinguishes it from other tenses.

Example usages include: "Il treno fermò al binario tre" meaning "The train stopped at platform three," and "Lei fermò l'automobile nel bel mezzo della strada" meaning "She stopped the car in the middle of the road." Because the passato remoto is mainly found in formal writing, fermò appears predominantly in literary contexts and historical accounts rather than in casual speech.

Etymology-wise, fermò derives from fermare, which is related to the Latin firmāre, meaning "to make firm" or "to fix." The sense of stopping or arresting movement aligns with the idea of fixing something in place.

See also fermare, its other tenses, and the broader use of the passato remoto in Italian literature.