refondare

Refondare is an Italian verb that denotes the act of refounding, reestablishing, or reorganizing something after it has dissolved, failed, or been abandoned. In standard Italian the more common form is rifondare; refondare is generally seen as a non-standard variant, an archaic spelling, or a regional/alternative usage in some texts.

Etymology and sense. The term combines the prefix ri- or re- meaning "again" with fondare, from Latin fundare "to found." The sense is to establish on a new or renewed foundation, often after a crisis or a transformational process. This makes refounding applicable to states, institutions, political movements, organizations, and even cities or cultural projects.

Usage and scope. Refondare is most often encountered in political or historical discourse, where speakers discuss refounding a state, a party, or a movement to align it with new principles or after a decisive upheaval. It can also appear in organizational or municipal contexts when a group aims to reconstruct its structures or identity. In contemporary writing, rifondare remains the preferred form, with refondare appearing primarily as a stylistic variant or in texts that preserve older spelling conventions.

Conjugation. If used, refondare would follow the pattern of regular -are verbs, but its usage is rare and less accepted than rifondare in standard Italian. The noun form rifondazione refers to the act of refounding.

See also. rifondare, rifondazione.