giro

Forms

giro m (plural giri)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin gȳrus (“circle, ring”), from the accusative ⟨gyrum⟩, borrowed from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “circle”).^[2][3][4][1] Devoto traces the Latin word to the language of horsemanship.^[5] DELI finds the further Indo-European relations of the Greek word unclear.^[2]

The word is continued in Occitan gir, Spanish giro and Portuguese giro, while French has it only in compounds; Romanian giur points to a form ⟨giurus⟩.^[6][3][7] The verb girare comes separately from Latin gyrāre, a verb formed from the noun.^[2]

Some modern uses are calques: the word for a stage race translates French tour, after the Tour de France (from 1903), and the phrase for “general survey” follows the French phrase with the same noun, first a nautical term.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the second half of the 13th century.^[4][3] DELI's first record is in Bono Giamboni, before 1292, in the sense “circuit, round, ring”;^[2] the GDLI quotes him on Carthage, which era di giro ventidua miglia “was twenty-two miles round”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “rotation, turn about an axis” is in Dante (before 1321), “journey” in a 14th-century translation of Livy, and “period of time” in Arrighetto (1304–1313).^[2] In 1622 Paolo Contarini used it for the circulation of money and goods, and before 1793 it also meant the transfer of credit between accounts.^[2][9] German had borrowed Giro as a banking term about 1600, and English took the banking sense from German.^[9]

Figurative senses came later: a set of activities or dealings (1887) and a circle of people, often in illegal business (1970).^[2] The sporting giro appears in 1923, with the Giro d'Italia, modelled on the Tour de France.^[2][9] The phrases giro di boa “turning point” and giro d'orizzonte “general survey” come from the language of sailors, and su di giri “excited” and giù di giri “low” from the revolutions of an engine.^[2]

English used giro (gyro) for “a tour, a journey” from the 17th century.^[9]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses giro for the circuit of a city.^[2]
• 1304–1313 – Arrighetto uses it for a period of time.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for rotation.^[2]
• 14th century – A translation of Livy uses it for a journey.^[2]
• c. 1600 – German borrows Giro as a banking term.^[9]
• 1622 – Paolo Contarini uses it for the circulation of money.^[2]
• 1670 – The OED's first record of English giro “tour”.^[9]
• 1923 – Giro is used for a cycling race in stages.^[2]
• 1970 – Zingarelli records giro for a ring of people in shady business.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The line around a round body or space; circumference, perimeter: il giro del lago; also the armhole of a garment (giro manica).^[4][10]
2. Each turn of a tape or rope wound round something; a string of pearls or beads.^[4]
3. rotation, a turn about an axis: due giri di chiave; the revolutions of an engine, un disco a 45 giri, a 45 rpm record.^[4][10][1]
4. A stroll or short trip; a tour along a set route: fare un giro in bicicletta, il giro del mondo.^[4][1]
5. (sports) A lap; a cycling race in stages: il Giro d'Italia.^[4][1]
6. A round of actions with the same purpose; a round in card games; a turn: saltare un giro.^[4][1]
7. A period of time: nel giro di un mese.^[4][1]
8. The circulation of money or goods.^[4][1]
9. A circle of people who see each other or work in the same field; a ring, especially an illegal one.^[4][1]
10. (knitting) A row of stitches.^[4][1]

Word family

• girello
• girone
• giretto
• girotondo
• aggirare

Related words

• girare
• raggirare
• Latin gyrus

Usage notes

Common phrases include prendere in giro “to make fun of”, in giro “around”, giro di parole “roundabout way of saying something” and giro di vite “tightening of the screw”.^[1][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 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 h i j k l m 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, p. 204
6. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1816
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
10. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier