ridusse

Ridusse is the third-person singular passato remoto form of the Italian verb ridurre, meaning to reduce or to lessen. It is chiefly found in literary, historical, or formal writing and denotes a completed action in the distant past. In everyday modern Italian, the passato remoto is rarely used in speech; speakers typically employ the passato prossimo, as in ha ridotto, or other periphrastic constructions.

Etymology and form: Ridurre derives from Latin reducere, from re- (back) and ducere (to lead). The passato remoto forms reflect traditional conjugation patterns of -ere verbs in classical Italian, with ridusse representing the third-person singular in this tense. The full set for ridurre in the passato remoto is: io ridussi, tu riducesti, lui/lei ridusse, noi riducemmo, voi riduceste, loro ridussero.

Usage notes: Ridusse is mainly encountered in chronicles, classical novels, poetry, or works that imitate historical language. It can convey a tone of antiquity or formality. In contemporary prose, writers more often use compound tenses or present/future forms like riduce or ha ridotto, depending on context.

Example: Durante l’assedio, l’esercito ridusse drasticamente le riserve d’acqua. Translation: During the siege, the army reduced the water reserves drastically.

See also: riduzione (reduction), riduttore (reducer), ridurre (to reduce).