Etymologically
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pericoloso

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Pronunciation

  • /pe.ri.koˈlo.zo/, /pe.ri.koˈlo.so/[1]

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

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