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Etymology and origin of the Italian word politica

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1260–1261, Brunetto Latini
Borrowed from
Latin politica
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πόλις

Pronunciation

  • /poˈli.ti.ka/[1]

Forms

politica f (plural politiche)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin politica, recorded in Apuleius,[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek πολιτική (politikḗ) (with τέχνη (tékhnē, “art”) understood), “the art of governing”.[5][6][7][8] The Greek adjective πολιτικός (politikós) comes from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city”).[5][6][7] GRADIT and Treccani treat the Italian noun as the feminine of politico used as a noun, with the word for “art” understood.[9][10] French politique is recorded from the 13th century.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is Brunetto Latini's Rettorica (about 1260–1261), for the science of the ways and forms of governing a community, and also the title of Aristotle's Politics and of a part of Latini's Tresor.[3][11] In the Italian Tesoro politics is “the highest science and the noblest craft among men”, because it teaches how to govern peoples and cities in peace and war.[12]

Semantic evolution

The Old Italian word had many spellings, among them poleticha, pulitica and polletica.[3] The figurative sense “shrewdness, cunning in acting or speaking” is first recorded in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1618).[11][2] In the 20th century the word came to mean a course of action pursued to an end, first in phrases such as politica dei consumi, typical of the First World War (1918), and then in any field: a company's pricing policy or a cultural policy.[11][7][9]

Today politica covers both “politics”, the activity and the public affairs people talk about, and “policy”, the line a government follows in a given field (politica estera, politica dei redditi).[9][6][13] Turkish politika was borrowed from it.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses politica in the Rettorica.[3]
  • Before 1294 – Latini uses it again in the Tesoro.[11][12]
  • 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for “shrewdness”.[11][2]
  • 1918 – Politica dei consumi is recorded, for a line of action.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. politics, the theory and practice of organising and governing the state: Ha studiato filosofia della politica.[9][6][7]
  2. policy, the action of a government in a given field, or its way of governing: la politica estera, una politica fiscale prudente.[9][6][13]
  3. The activity of those who take part in public life: Dopo la laurea è entrato in politica.[9][13][7]
  4. Public affairs as a subject of conversation: A cena non si parla di politica.[9][13]
  5. The line followed by a person or an organisation in some activity: la politica dei prezzi di un'azienda.[9][13][7]
  6. Diplomacy, shrewdness: Ci vuole un po' di politica per convincerlo.[9][13][1]

Word family

  • politichese
  • impolitica
  • politicare
  • politicheria
  • sottopolitica
  • politicante
  • politicastro
  • politico
  • politologia
  • politologo
  • polis
  • Ancient Greek πολιτική (politikḗ)
  • French politique

Usage notes

Politica is also the feminine of the adjective and noun politico (una politica, a woman politician).[9][1][7] The GDLI records a rare literary politica “courtesan”, after Modern Greek usage noted by Tommaseo.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3001
  3. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  4. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 757
  5. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  10. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Politica.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/politica. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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