Etymologically
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parcheggio

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Pronunciation

  • /parˈked.d͡ʒo/[1]

Forms

parcheggio m (plural parcheggi)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian parco + -eggio on the model of campo and campeggio, according to DELI, and the verb parcheggiare was made from the noun.[2][3] Nocentini, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli call the noun a derivative of the verb, though the noun is recorded first (1935) and the verb only in 1954.[4][5][6][2] GRADIT compares English park.[5]

The base noun is used here in its sense “depot, area for vehicles or artillery”, recorded before 1786.[2] That noun came from Old French parc (1175), from Medieval Latin parricus (“enclosure”) recorded in a Frankish law code of the 8th century, a word DELI thinks probably pre-Indo-European.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Alfredo Panzini's Dizionario moderno (1935 edition), for the manoeuvre of parking a car.[2][5][7] Bruno Migliorini's Lingua contemporanea (1938) has it for the area where cars are left between marked lines.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word spread with motoring and replaced or joined posteggio, its synonym.[7][3] Figuratively it names a temporary and unsatisfactory position while waiting for something better, as in area di parcheggio, said for instance of a course of study taken to put off unemployment, and di parcheggio means “interim”: governo di parcheggio is a caretaker government.[3][8][7][5] In astronautics an orbita di parcheggio is a waiting orbit.[3]

Timeline

  • 1175 – French parc is first recorded.[2]
  • Before 1786 – Parco is used for a depot of vehicles or artillery.[2]
  • 1935 – Parcheggio is recorded for the act of parking.[2][5]
  • 1938 – Migliorini records it for a car park.[2]
  • 1954 – The verb parcheggiare is recorded.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. parking, the act or manoeuvre of parking a vehicle: È vietato il parcheggio davanti al cancello.[5][6][3]
  2. A parking space for one vehicle: Abbiamo girato mezz'ora per trovare parcheggio.[5][6]
  3. A car park, parking lot: un parcheggio sotterraneo.[5][6][7]
  4. (figurative) A temporary situation of waiting, often unsatisfactory, di parcheggio: interim, provisional.[6][3][7]
  • parcheggiare
  • parcheggiatore
  • parco
  • posteggio
  • campeggio

References

  1. ^ a b 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 Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana