pericoloso

Forms

pericoloso (feminine pericolosa, masculine plural pericolosi, feminine plural pericolose, superlative pericolosissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous”), from perīculum (“trial, attempt; risk, danger”) and the suffix -ōsus.^[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary considers it probably a semi-learned borrowing;^[1][2] Italian pericolo is also learned.^[1][2] Old and dialect forms are Old Italian periculoso, perigoloso, piricoloso and the Tuscan pricoloso, and Körting gives periglioso beside it.^[5][6]

The Latin adjective has outcomes throughout Romance: Romanian periculos, Old Occitan perilhos, French périlleux, Catalan perillós, Spanish peligroso and Portuguese perigoso.^[6] The Latin noun first meant “a trial, experiment” and comes from a verb *perīrī (“to try”), seen in perītus (“experienced”) and experior (“to try, test”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is periculoso in Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, writing of earthly greatness, “come è affannosa e periculosa ad acquistare” (how wearisome and dangerous to acquire).^[2][7] Zingarelli dates the word to about 1261.^[8] The form pericoloso is in Dino Compagni (1310–1312).^[2]

Semantic evolution

At first the word meant “full of risks”; of a person or thing that can do harm it is recorded about 1304 in Giordano da Pisa.^[2] Dante has the superlative in the Convivio: “pericolosissima negligenza”.^[7] In the 20th century it entered law and sport: pericolosità (criminal dangerousness) is first recorded in 1912, and gioco pericoloso, a foul in football, in 1970.^[2] A regional modern use, “reckless, daredevil”, is in the GDLI's supplement.^[5]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo writes periculoso.^[2][4]
• About 1304 – Giordano da Pisa uses it for something that can do harm.^[2]
• 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni has the form pericoloso.^[2]
• 1912 – The noun pericolosità appears in criminal law.^[2]
• 1970 – Zingarelli records gioco pericoloso in football.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. dangerous, risky: un incrocio pericoloso; impersonally: È pericoloso nuotare qui con la bandiera rossa.^{[4][9][10][1]}
2. Of a person, likely to do harm, a threat to others: un criminale pericoloso.^[4][9][10]
3. Of an animal, aggressive towards people.^[4][9]
4. Of an illness or wound, serious.^[4]
5. Liable to bring pain or disappointment; delicate, ticklish: un argomento pericoloso.^[4][9][8]
6. gioco pericoloso: in football, dangerous play, a foul with the leg raised.^[8][11][12]

Word family

• pericolosità
• pericolosamente

Related words

• pericolo
• spericolato
• Latin perīculōsus

Usage notes

The ⟨s⟩ is pronounced either /z/ or /s/;^[10][8][1] Sabatini–Coletti and Zingarelli give the voiced one first.^[10][8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ a b Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 29
8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli