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killer

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word killer

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1934, La Domenica del Corriere
Borrowed from
English killer
Ultimate origin
English kill
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English killer
Italian killer

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkil.lɛr/[1]

Forms

killer m (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English killer (“one who kills”), from the verb kill (“to kill”).[2][3][4][1] DELI and Zingarelli note that the English verb stands alone among the Germanic languages.[2][5] The word soon became international, first in connection with things American.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in La Domenica del Corriere of 6 May 1934, in the sense “hired murderer, hitman”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

By 1957 the word also named a kind of warship, a “hunter” ship, in the Dizionario enciclopedico.[2] It entered sports journalism by 1973.[2] Lepschy and Lepschy took it as an example of how deeply the word had entered contemporary Italian.[2]

From “hitman” it widened to any murderer, especially in the press, and to a clipping of serial killer.[4][1] Placed after a noun it means “deadly”: squalo killer, zanzara killer, virus killer.[4][6][5] Figuratively it is a ruthless person who eliminates rivals, especially in politics, often by slander.[4][5] In biology linfociti killer or cellule killer are cells that destroy foreign or diseased cells, and in technology jargon killer is a product that displaces an older one.[7]

Timeline

  • 1934 – Killer “hitman” appears in La Domenica del Corriere.[2][4]
  • 1957 – The Dizionario enciclopedico records killer as a type of warship.[2]
  • 1973 – The word is recorded in sports language.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A hired murderer, a hitman.[4][7][6][8]
  2. (by extension, journalistic) Any murderer; short for serial killer.[4][1]
  3. (figurative) A ruthless person who pursues their aims by eliminating rivals, especially in politics.[4][6][5]
  4. (sport, surfing) An outstanding champion.[7]

Adjective

  1. (invariable, after the noun) deadly, able to kill: un batterio killer.[4][6][5]
  2. (biology) In linfociti killer, cellule killer: cells that destroy foreign or diseased cells.[7][4]

Word family

  • killeraggio
  • killerare
  • superkiller

Usage notes

The word is invariable in Italian (i killer), though the English plural killers is also found.[6][8] It is pronounced with a double /l/ in Italian.[7][1]

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 i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ 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 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 d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana

Related etymologies

  • ok · also from English
  • dollaro · also from English
  • film · also from English
  • camera · also from English
  • detective · also from English
  • video · also from English
  • club · also from English
  • sexy · also from English
Cite this entry

“Killer.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/killer. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·