risalire

Ris alire is an Italian verb with several related meanings centered on returning or rising. The primary senses are to date from, to go back to (in time), and to rise or climb again. In time references, it denotes the origin or starting point of something, while in physical or figurative uses it can mean to ascend or to increase.

Etymology and formation: risalire is formed from the prefix ri- (back, again) added to salire (to climb). The prefix conveys a sense of returning or reaching back to a point in the past, or of moving upward again in a figurative or literal sense.

Usage and typical structures: When indicating origin in time, risalire is usually followed by a or by a date: “Questo fatto risale al 1998.” More broadly, one can say “Le origini risalgono al Medioevo.” The verb is intransitive and takes essere as the auxiliary in compound tenses: “sono risalito/risalita.” It can also express a rise in level, temperature, or value: “La temperatura è risalita durante la notte.” In some contexts, risalire can imply ascent in a physical sense, similar to “to climb back up.”

Conjugation (selected forms): Present indicative: io risalgo, tu risali, lui/lei risale, noi risaliamo, voi risalite, loro risalgono. Passato prossimo: sono risalito/a. Imperfetto: risalivo, risalivi, risaliva, risalivamo, risalivate, risalivano. Futuro: risalirò, risalirai, risalirà, risaliremo, risalirete, risaliranno. Gerundio: risalendo. Participio passato: risalito (masc.), risalita (fem.). Subjunctive present: risalga, risalga, risalga, risalamo, risalate, risalgano.

Note: risalire può anche governare la frase con una relazione causale implicita (a partire da), ma l’uso principale resta l’indicazione temporale di origine o di risalita in senso figurato.