Etymologically
Log in

casino

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word casino

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1584, Raffaello Borghini
Ultimate origin
Latin casa
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin casa
French chez
Italian casa
Italian casino
English casino
Derived words
Latin casula ← casa

Pronunciation

  • /kaˈzi.no/, /kaˈsi.no/[1]

Forms

casino m (plural casini)[1]

Etymology

It is formed in from Italian casa + -ino, a diminutive of the word for “house”.[2][3][4][5][1] The base continues Latin casa (“hut, cottage”), of uncertain origin.[6] The same formation is Piedmontese casin.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Raffaello Borghini's Il Riposo (1584), is the sense “a small country house of the gentry”, the kind of building that stood in the grounds of princely villas.[2][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Before 1665 Lorenzo Lippi used casino for a house where members met to read, gamble and talk, a club.[2][8] The sense “brothel” is recorded in 1706;[2] DELI notes that the earlier example from Cecchi quoted by the GDLI means a gambling house, not a brothel.[2] DEI also records the 17th-century senses “box in a theatre” and “sentry box”.[9]

The colloquial sense “din, confusion” is recorded in 1917 in Antonio Baldini.[2] Later colloquial use added “a mess, a tricky situation”, “a great quantity” and the adverbial un casino “a lot”.[4][10]

The word travelled abroad in its older senses.[11][6] English casino (1744) first meant a public room for music or dancing; it is a building for gambling from about 1820, first in an Italian setting, and the card game from 1792.[6] French took casino in 1740 and casin in 1772, and German Kasino (1775) named an Italian club and later an officers' mess.[11]

Timeline

  • 1584 – Raffaello Borghini uses casino for a country house of the gentry.[2][4]
  • Before 1665 – Lorenzo Lippi uses it for a club for reading, gaming and conversation.[2]
  • 1706 – The sense “brothel” is recorded.[2]
  • 1740 – French casino is recorded.[11]
  • 1744 – English casino is recorded.[6]
  • 1775 – German Kasino is recorded.[11]
  • 1917 – Antonio Baldini uses casino for “din, confusion”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small country house of the gentry, used especially for hunting or fishing: casino di caccia.[4][12][13]
  2. (historical) A club, a meeting place for reading and conversation: casino dei nobili.[4][13][5]
  3. (rare) A gambling house, a casinò.[4][12][5]
  4. (vulgar) A brothel.[4][12][13][1]
  5. (colloquial) A mess, disorder; noise, a racket: Stanotte i vicini hanno fatto casino fino alle tre.[4][12][5][1]
  6. (colloquial) A muddle, a tricky situation; a fuss: Si è cacciato in un casino con le tasse.[4][12][5]
  7. (colloquial) A great quantity: C'era un casino di traffico in tangenziale.[4][12][1]
  8. (colloquial, un casino) Very much, a lot: Quel comico mi fa ridere un casino.[4][12][5]

Word family

  • incasinare
  • casinista
  • casinaro

Usage notes

In the senses “mess”, “trouble” and “a lot” the word is colloquial and can sound vulgar.[4][14][1] The gambling house is usually casinò, with final stress.[4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 835
  8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 792
  10. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. Supplemento 2009
  11. ^ a b c d Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Casino.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/casino. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·