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carico

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word carico

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1260–1261, Brunetto Latini
Ultimate origin
Latin carrus

Pronunciation

  • /ˈka.ri.ko/[1]

Forms

carico (feminine carica, masculine plural carichi, feminine plural cariche); noun carico m (plural carichi)[1] The older and poetic form is carco.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from caricare (“to load”): the noun is a deverbal with no suffix, and the adjective is the short form of the past participle, beside the regular caricato.[4][5][6][1]

The LEI notes that nouns of this kind, a Late Latin *carricum or *carrica, probably already existed in Late Latin, because Romance has early continuations of them, such as Friulian ciàrie, Romansh carga and Old French carge (about 1130);[7] Meyer-Lübke also thought they could be Latin.[8] Related nouns are French charge, Spanish cargo and Portuguese carrego.[5][8]

The verb continues Vulgar Latin *caricāre, recorded in Late Latin glosses as carricāre, from Latin carrus (“wagon, cart”); classical Latin said onerāre.[4][5][1] The Latin noun was borrowed from Gaulish.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record of the noun is in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (about 1260–1261, Florence).[3] DELI gives the Novellino (late 13th century) for “what is loaded onto a person, an animal or a vehicle”.[4] The adjective is first recorded in Bono Giamboni's translation of Orosius (1292).[3]

Semantic evolution

Dante used carco both for a load and, figuratively, for a weight on the conscience;[4] Boccaccio has carico in this sense in 1353.[4] The TLIO lists many early senses of the noun: a tax or financial burden, a task laid on someone, the weight of grief or shame.[3] Matteo Villani wrote of ships di carico, cargo ships, and used the noun for the act of loading (before 1363).[9][4]

Later the noun took technical senses: the force or weight on a structure (Sebastiano Serlio, before 1555) and, in the card game briscola, the ace and the three (1879).[4] The adjective came to mean deep or intense of a colour (Cellini, before 1571) and strong of coffee (Silvio Pellico, 1832).[4] Persona a carico, a dependant, and testimone a carico, a witness for the prosecution, are modern legal and administrative phrases.[2][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1260–1261 – The noun appears in Brunetto Latini's Rettorica.[3]
  • Late 13th century – The Novellino uses it for a load.[4]
  • 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses the adjective.[3]
  • Before 1321 – Dante writes carco “load; burden”.[4]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani writes carico “laden”.[4]
  • Before 1555 – Serlio uses it for the load on a structure.[4]
  • Before 1571 – Cellini uses it of an intense colour.[4]
  • 1832 – Silvio Pellico uses it of strong coffee.[4]
  • 1879 – The briscola sense is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. loading, the act of loading goods: Il carico del camion è durato tutta la mattina.[6][2][11]
  2. A load, cargo: un carico di sabbia, nave da carico, cargo ship.[6][2][11]
  3. (figurative) A large amount: un carico di botte.[6][2]
  4. A burden, responsibility: Tutto il carico dell'azienda è sulle sue spalle., a carico di, dependent on or chargeable to someone.[6][2][11]
  5. (engineering) The load or force acting on a structure or machine.[6][11][12]
  6. (card games) In briscola, the ace or the three of a suit that is not trumps.[6][11]

Adjective

  1. laden, loaded (with di): un furgone carico di mobili.[6][2][11]
  2. Full to capacity; covered with things: Lo scaffale è carico di libri.[6][2]
  3. (figurative) Weighed down, burdened: carico di impegni; or rich in: carico di premi.[6][2][11]
  4. Of a colour, deep, intense; of a drink, strong: un verde carico, un espresso carico.[6][11]
  5. Ready to work: wound up, charged or loaded: La batteria è carica.[6][11][1]

Word family

  • sovraccarico
  • stracarico
  • sopraccarico
  • capocarico
  • caricare
  • carica
  • incarico
  • carro
  • caricatura
  • French charge

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 12, 603
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  12. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
Cite this entry

“Carico.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/carico. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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