Etymologically
Log in

corsa

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word corsa

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1252–1258, Storia de Troia e de Roma

Pronunciation

Forms

corsa f (plural corse)[1] Old Italian also wrote chorsa and Old Italian cursa.[2]

Etymology

It is the feminine of corso, the past participle of correre (“to run”), used as a noun.[3][4][5][6][1] Devoto describes it the same way.[7]

DEI notes that French course (late 14th century), which replaced the isolated Old French corse of the 13th century, was modelled on the Italian word.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Roman Storia de Troia e de Roma (1252–1258), with the sense “the act of running”.[2] DELI dates that sense to Cecco Angiolieri, before 1313.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used corsa for a raid that laid waste to the land and for a charge in battle, and the phrases a corsa and di corsa already meant “running, in great haste”.[2] The sense “race, a contest of speed” is dated by DELI to Scipione Maffei (before 1755), while Matteo Villani in the 14th century already wrote of the corso del palio.[3][10] In Rome the first horse races with English horses were run at the Capannelle in 1844.[10]

Technical and transport senses came later: the stroke or travel of a pendulum or piston (1677, Daniello Bartoli), one journey of a public vehicle between its terminals (1844, a Milanese newspaper), and guerra di corsa, privateering against an enemy's sea trade (1857).[3] Giovanni Pascoli is the first to use corsa for a frantic scramble to get something ahead of others (1897), the sense of corsa all'oro and corsa agli armamenti.[3][11]

Timeline

  • 1252–1258 – Corsa appears in the Roman Storia de Troia e de Roma.[2]
  • Before 1313 – Cecco Angiolieri uses it for running.[3]
  • Late 14th century – French course is recorded, after the Italian word.[8]
  • 1677 – Daniello Bartoli uses it for the travel of a pendulum.[3]
  • Before 1755 – Scipione Maffei uses it for a sporting race.[3]
  • 1844 – It is used for one run of a public vehicle.[3]
  • 1857 – Corsa is recorded for naval privateering.[3][9]
  • 1897 – Pascoli uses it for a frantic race for something.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. running; the fast gait in which both feet are briefly off the ground: Arrivò di corsa, senza fiato.[5][6][12]
  2. A quick trip somewhere and back: Faccio una corsa in farmacia e torno.[5][6][11]
  3. The motion of a vehicle; one journey of a bus, tram or train between its terminals, or the fare for a taxi ride: La prima corsa del tram parte alle cinque.[5][13][11]
  4. (sports) A race, a contest of speed between runners, animals or vehicles; in the plural, horse races: una corsa ciclistica a tappe.[5][6][13]
  5. (figurative) A frantic effort to get something before others: la corsa agli armamenti.[11][13][14]
  6. (mechanics) The stroke or travel of a part with reciprocating motion, such as a piston.[13][14][1]
  7. (history) In guerra di corsa, privateering against an enemy's merchant ships.[13][14][1]

Word family

  • corsetta
  • avancorsa
  • corsaiolo
  • extracorsa

Usage notes

Common phrases are di corsa “in a hurry”, a passo di corsa “at a run”, da corsa “built for racing” (bicicletta da corsa) and essere in corsa per “to be in the running for”.[6][11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1124
  9. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  10. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
  11. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  13. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Corsa.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/corsa. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·