Etymologically
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poliziotto

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Pronunciation

  • /po.litˈt͡sjɔt.to/[1]

Forms

poliziotto m (plural poliziotti, feminine poliziotta)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Italian polizia + -otto,.[2][1][3][4] Polizia is a learned word from Latin polītīa (“political organization, government”), from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía, “government of the city”), and owes its modern sense “police force” to a calque on French police, which spread in the European languages after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic conquests.[5][6]

The phrase “donna poliziotto” “policewoman” is a calque on police-woman (1853).[5] Tommaseo heard something contemptuous in the very sound of the word.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Venetian: Boerio's dialect dictionary of 1829 lists polizioto as a neologism of the common people for the officers and soldiers of the police.[5][6][2] DELI's first Italian record is in Giuseppe Rovani in 1843, and Sabatini–Coletti dates the word to before 1848.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word was popular and somewhat disparaging, as distinct from the official names of the force: Tommaseo glosses it as a man of the lower police and adds that magistrates, courtiers and scholars can also have something of the poliziotto.[7] Garibaldi listed poliziotti beside spies and priests among the tools of reaction, and Carducci wrote of poliziotti travestiti, police in disguise.[8]

Today it is the ordinary, non-technical word for an officer of the state police.[9][10] From the start it also had a figurative use for anyone who behaves in an authoritarian, prying way towards subordinates, and for a ruler who governs by repression.[2][3][9] Placed after a noun it works as an invariable adjective, as in cane poliziotto, a police dog, and donna poliziotto.[2][4][11]

Timeline

  • 1829 – Boerio's Venetian dictionary records polizioto.[5][2]
  • 1843 – Giuseppe Rovani uses poliziotto.[5]
  • 1853 – English police-woman is recorded, the model of donna poliziotto.[5]
  • 1861–1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini enters the word as familiar and disparaging.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A policeman or policewoman, an officer of the police: Due poliziotti fermarono l'auto al posto di blocco.[2][10][3][1]
  2. poliziotto privato: a private detective.[2][9][11]
  3. (figurative, derogatory) A person who keeps an oppressive watch on others or treats subordinates in a bullying way: In ufficio fa il poliziotto con tutti.[2][10][3]
  4. (uncommon) A ruler who governs by repressive methods.[2][9]

Adjective

  1. (invariable, after a noun) Belonging to or trained for the police: cane poliziotto “police dog”, donna poliziotto “policewoman”.[2][4][9]

Word family

  • poliziotta
  • poliziottesco
  • superpoliziotto

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  8. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 773
  9. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  10. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli