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giacca

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word giacca

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1853, D'Ayala
Borrowed from
Old French jaque
Ultimate origin
Old French jaque

Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒak.ka/[1]

Forms

giacca f (plural giacche)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French jaque (1364), which had the diminutive jaquette (1375).[2][3][4][1] The French word is usually derived from the name French Jacques (“James”), which also meant “peasant”, because peasants wore this kind of garment.[2][3][5] DELI and Devoto–Oli give this explanation with some reserve;[2][6] DELI adds that an Arabic origin proposed by some scholars is ruled out by the French centre of diffusion and the uncertain records.[2][6]

In Italian the diminutive giacchetta, from the French diminutive, came first, and the shorter word spread only in the 19th century.[2][3] Devoto and the GDLI therefore take the word as extracted from the diminutive, as if restoring its base form.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in D'Ayala's military dictionary of 1853, for the upper part of a man's suit.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Giacchetta is older: 15th-century examples, in Sercambi among others, meant a coat of mail, and Boerio's Venetian dictionary of 1829 calls giachèta a word lately become common to all Italy, from French jaquette.[2] Tommaseo did not list giacca.[2] Tuscan purists disliked it: Fanfani and Arlìa (1877) called it a rude word of northern and southern Italy that Tuscans could not hear without disgust, while Valeriani had already admitted in 1854 that giacchetta could no longer be rooted out of Italian.[2][8]

In the 20th century came giaccone “heavy long jacket” (1933, Ugo Ojetti) and giacca a vento “windcheater, anorak”, which Prati dates to 1934;[2] giacca da vento is in Olivieri's mountaineering glossary of the same year.[2] In sports journalism giacca nera “black jacket” meant a football referee (1965).[2]

Timeline

  • 1364 – Old French jaque is recorded.[2][4]
  • 1829 – Boerio records Venetian giachèta as a word common to all Italy.[2]
  • 1853 – Giacca appears in D'Ayala's dictionary.[2][4]
  • 1877 – Fanfani and Arlìa condemn giacca as un-Tuscan.[2]
  • 1933 – Ugo Ojetti uses giaccone.[2]
  • 1934 – Giacca a vento, according to Prati.[2]
  • 1965 – Giacca nera “referee” in sports language.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A jacket: a garment for men or women with sleeves, buttoned at the front, usually with lapels and reaching to the hips: giacca e cravatta.[4][6][9][10]
  2. The top half of a two-piece outfit, such as pyjamas or a tracksuit.[4]

Word family

  • giacchetta
  • giaccone
  • giacchetto
  • sopraggiacca
  • sottogiacca
  • giacchino

Usage notes

Giacca a vento is a windproof, often padded jacket with a hood, worn for mountain sports.[6][11][5] Tirare qualcuno per la giacca means to press someone to take one's side.[11] An obsolete homograph giacca was the fruit of the jackfruit or breadfruit tree, from Malay, recorded before 1725.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  6. ^ a b c d 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 c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 750
  9. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Giacca.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/giacca. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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