Etymologically
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impiegato

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Pronunciation

  • /im.pjeˈɡa.to/[1]

Forms

impiegato m (plural impiegati, feminine impiegata)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of impiegare (“to employ”), used as a noun.[2][3][4] DEI, Sabatini–Coletti and the 19th-century purist Ugolini see the noun as modelled on French employé.[5][6][2]

The verb is the popular outcome inherited from Latin implicō (“to entwine, involve”), from in- and plicō (“to fold”), and a doublet of the learned implicare.[2][3][1] The same Latin verb gave French employer and Occitan emplegar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI dates the noun to 1771, in the laws of the Republic of Lucca;[2][3][5] DEI has it in Tuscany in 1786.[2][3][5] The participle impiegato “put to use” is much older: Boccaccio speaks of tears bene impiegate in the Fiammetta (1343–1344).[7][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century impiegato was criticised by purists as a Gallicism, but Fanfani called it a word of common use in 1863, and Rigutini in 1886 said it was too well rooted to be removed.[2] The word gave impiegatizio (1922), which Panzini's successor called unpleasant, and the dismissive impiegatume for clerks as a mass.[2][9]

Today labour law distinguishes the impiegato di concetto, who does intellectual or technical work, from the impiegato d'ordine, who carries out set tasks.[10][4][9]

Timeline

  • 1343–1344 – Boccaccio uses the participle impiegato “put to use”.[7]
  • 1771 – Impiegato “employee” appears in the laws of the Republic of Lucca.[2][3]
  • 1786 – The noun is recorded in Tuscany.[5]
  • 1863 – Fanfani calls the word one of common use.[2]
  • 1905 – Panzini records impiegato d'ordine.[2]
  • 1922 – Piero Gobetti uses impiegatizio.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An employee who does regular, non-manual work in a public or private office; a clerk: Lavora come impiegata in un'agenzia di viaggi.[10][4][6]

Adjective

  1. Used, employed for a purpose: tempo ben impiegato.[10][9]

Word family

  • impiegatizio
  • impiegatesco
  • impiegatume
  • impiegare
  • impiego
  • implicare
  • French employé

Usage notes

Impiegato statale or pubblico is a civil servant, and impiegato di banca a bank clerk.[6][9] The feminine is impiegata.[4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1962
  6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET