Etymologically
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killer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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