politico

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian politico or Spanish político,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} the adjective meaning "political" used as a noun,^[3][5][4] from Latin polīticus (“of citizens or the state”),^[4][6][5] from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós), from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city”).^[6][5] The OED records the Italian word from 1585 and the Spanish from 1428 or earlier,^[2] and English had already used politic and politician for a politician.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A politician: 1630, in a translation of G. Botero's Relations of the most famous kingdoms.^[2][4][3] Etymonline gives the 1620s,^[5] and Dictionary.com 1620–30.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word has usually been disparaging,^[5][7] and Collins treats it as an informal word for a politician.^[9] The OED adds the later sense of a person with strong political views or political motives,^[2] and the Historical Thesaurus files the word under discreditable political activity, and under people interested in politics from 1893.^[10] Merriam-Webster gives the plural as politicos, also politicoes.^[4]

Timeline

• 1630 – a politician.^[2][4][3] Etymonline gives the 1620s.^[5]
• 1893 – a person interested in politics.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (informal) A politician, often used disparagingly: Two politicos were arguing on the radio again.^[9][7][5]
2. A person with strong political views, or one acting from political motives.^[2][7]

Related words

• politic
• political
• politician
• politics
• polis
• policy
• police

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)