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cerca

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word cerca

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
13th century, Bonvesin de la Riva
Ultimate origin
Latin circus

Pronunciation

  • /ˈt͡ʃer.ka/[1]

Forms

cerca f (plural cerche)[1]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from the verb cercare “to look for”.[2][3][4][5][1] The verb continues Late Latin circāre (“to go around, encircle”), from circum (“around”) and circus (“circle”).[3][1] The LEI follows Tilander in explaining how “to go around” became “to look for”: through the sense “to scent out, to hunt”, said of a dog or a hunter going round a place.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Milanese poems of Bonvesin de la Riva (13th century), where the word means going round a place.[7] DELI dates the sense “search” to Dante (before 1321).[2] Medieval Latin circa was used by the chronicler Salimbene (1281–1288) for the friars' collection of alms, and Zingarelli dates the Italian word to 1288.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian cerca named a round of holy places made in devotion, a patrol through a territory, and a search of any kind; in the romances of chivalry it translated French queste, the quest.[7] Dante's Paradiso recalls a grandfather who “andava a la cerca” (went on the rounds), and Sacchetti tells of a knight of the podestà who andava alla cerca, patrolling the streets.[9][10]

The begging round of the mendicant friars, fare la cerca, is recorded in Italian from Giovan Battista Gelli (before 1563), and Manzoni noted that after a miracle la cerca delle noci brought in a great deal.[2][9] In hunting it is the work of a dog seeking out game.[4][11] In everyday use the word survives mainly in the phrase essere in cerca di “to be in search of”.[12][4]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Bonvesin de la Riva uses the word in Milan.[7]
  • 1281–1288 – Salimbene uses Medieval Latin circa for the friars' alms round.[2]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses cerca for a search.[2]
  • Before 1563 – Gelli uses it for the friars' begging round.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A search, the act of looking for something, chiefly in the phrase andare in cerca di: È partito per la città in cerca di lavoro.[4][13][12][8]
  2. (religion) The alms round of the mendicant friars; also what is collected: andare alla cerca.[4][13][8]
  3. (hunting) The work of a dog that searches for and flushes game.[4][13][11]
  4. (history) The ride through the city on a cart imposed on those condemned to death before the execution.[4][13][8]
  5. (obsolete) A patrol or inspection; a visit to holy places.[4][13][14]

Usage notes

Andare in cerca di guai means to go looking for trouble.[13] Cerca is also the third person singular present of cercare.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 14, 505
  7. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 2, 987
  10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  13. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Cerca.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/cerca. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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