scorrere

Scorrere is an Italian verb that denotes movement in a smooth, continuous way along a surface, or the passage of something over time. In everyday language it covers both physical motion and more abstract notions of progression, and in modern usage it also refers to navigating content on a screen by scrolling.

Senses and usage. The primary sense is physical flow: liquids, like water or blood, move along a channel or through the body. For example, l’acqua scorre nel fiume (the water flows in the river) and il sangue scorre nelle vene (the blood flows through the veins). A related sense is movement over a surface or along a path, such as una lama che scorre su una superficie or the pages of a book.

In a temporal sense, scorrere also means that time passes or runs smoothly: il tempo scorre, indicating the succession and continuity of moments. In reading or viewing, scorrere describes moving through text or images by deliberate scrolling: scorrere una pagina sullo schermo, scorrere le pagine di un libro elettronico.

Transitivity and construction. Scorrere is primarily intransitive, used without a direct object to express flow or time passing. It can be used transitively when referring to navigating through content: scorrere le pagine del documento or scorri la pagina per continuare. In imperative form, it commonly appears as scorri (scorri la pagina).

Etymology and related terms. The verb derives from a root related to movement and running, and it is closely related in meaning to other verbs of motion such as scivolare (to slide) and fluire (to flow) in physical senses, while its digital sense has become common with the rise of graphical interfaces.