patire

Patire is an Italian verb meaning to suffer or endure hardship, pain, or misfortune. It can describe physical pain as well as emotional distress or the endurance of unfavorable conditions. The verb is common in literary and formal writing, and it appears in everyday language when describing hardship or misfortune.

Etymology and related forms: Patire derives from Latin pati, meaning to endure or suffer. It shares its root with related Romance verbs and has a family resemblance to forms found in other languages, though its direct cognates vary by language.

Usage and nuances: Patire is transitive and can take a direct object, as in patire un torto (to suffer a wrong) or patire danni (to suffer damages). It is often used with phrases like patire la fame (to suffer hunger) or patire ingiustizie. In nuance, patire tends to emphasize endurance or bearing hardship, whereas soffrire more often conveys active suffering or pain in a broader sense.

Conjugation snapshot: Patire is a regular -ire verb with present tense forms patisco, patisci, patisce, patiamo, patite, patiscono. The imperfect is pativo, pativi, pativa, pativamo, pativate, pativano. The passato prossimo uses avere: ho patito, hai patito, ha patito, abbiamo patito, avete patito, hanno patito. The verb also forms a gerund patendo and a conditional mood patirei, patiresti, patirebbe, patiremmo, patireste, patirebbero.

See also: Soffrire; Patience in literature; Italian verbs of -ire conjugation.