nacque

Nacque is the third-person singular form of the Italian verb nascere in the passato remoto, meaning "he/she/it was born" or "came into being." It is primarily found in formal, literary, or historical writing. In contemporary, everyday Italian, the passato prossimo with essere (è nato/a) is more common for expressions of birth, while nacque tends to appear in novels, chronicles, or classical poetry, where a more archaic or elevated tone is desired.

The verb's full passato remoto conjugation is nacqui, nascesti, nacque, nascemmo, nasceste, nacquero. Nacque can also convey the sense that something originated or arose at a particular time, not only that a person was born. Examples include narrative sentences such as "Nel 1492 nacque un nuovo movimento" or "L'opinione pubblica nacque dal dibattito degli anni precedenti." In this usage, the sense is about beginning or coming into existence rather than physical birth.

Etymology and related terms: Nacere derives from Latin nasci, related to other Romance language forms such as Spanish nació, French naquit, and Portuguese nasceu. The related noun nascita means birth, while nascente or nascita can denote something in a nascent or emerging state. The form nacque remains a characteristic feature of historical or literary narration in Italian.

See also: nascita, nascere, passato remoto, nascent (cognate in English).