club

Forms

club m (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English club, a word that properly means “cudgel” and is of Germanic origin.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} DEI compares Old Norse klubba (“club, cudgel”) and dates the English word for an association to the 17th century.^[6] The usual explanation of that sense is that a club was sent round to the members to call them to a meeting.^{[2][3][7][8][6]} GRADIT calls the semantic development uncertain and also suggests the English verb meaning “to combine, put together”.^[4] Treccani instead takes the original sense to have been “knot, cluster of people”, as Devoto glosses it.^[9][10]

The English word reached France by 1707 and Germany by 1750, and there it took the place of the Italian loan casino.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Gazzettiere americano of 1763, for an association of people pursuing common aims, at first with reference to English customs.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 18th century the word spread in Italian with a definite political sense, after the French example of the revolutionary clubs such as the Jacobins'.^[2][4][11] Adaptations such as globo (1793) and clupo (1794), both used by Pasquale Paoli, did not last.^[2][12] In the 19th century the word took on a general sense again, and in the second half of the century it entered the names of associations such as the Club Alpino Italiano (founded 1863), the Jockey Club and the Touring Club.^[2][13]

Purists objected: Ugolini called it “a new word come from France”, and Guglielmotti a “fetid and loathsome foreign word”.^[13] The popular form clubbe and the derivative clubista (also clubbista) are recorded.^[13] In modern Italian the word also names a club side as opposed to a national team, informal groups of states or institutions, and the stick used in golf.^[7][4][9]

Timeline

• 1763 – Club appears in the Gazzettiere americano.^[2][4]
• 1793–1794 – Pasquale Paoli tries the adaptations globo and clupo.^[2]
• 1863 – The Club Alpino Italiano is founded.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A club, an association of people with shared cultural, political, sporting or recreational interests: Si è iscritta a un club di scacchi.^{[4][7][5][8][1]}
2. The premises where the members meet: Al club servono un ottimo aperitivo.^[4][7][9]
3. (sports) A club side, as opposed to a national team.^[7]
4. A national body for an activity, such as the Club Alpino Italiano.^[4][7]
5. A group of states or organisations whose representatives meet regularly: il club dei dieci, the Group of Ten.^[4][7][5][8]
6. (history) A political club of the French Revolution.^[4][7][12]
7. (golf) A golf club.^[4][7][1]

Word family

• clubista

Related words

• circolo
• English club

Usage notes

The word is pronounced /ˈklab/, /ˈklɛb/ or /ˈklub/, and Treccani also notes /klœb/ under French influence.^[7][5][9][1] It is invariable in Italian, although the English plural clubs is sometimes used.^[12][9]

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 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 i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 987
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
9. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c d Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti