professionista

Forms

professionista m or f by sense (masculine plural professionisti, feminine plural professioniste)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian professione (“profession”) + -ista.^[2][3][4][1] Treccani and the GDLI derive it from professionismo instead.^[5][6] The noun professione is borrowed from Latin professiō (“public declaration”), from professus, the past participle of profiteor (“to declare publicly”).^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the Milanese press of 1842, for a person who practises a profession.^[8][2][4] The word was felt as new for some time: Mario Pratesi writes of “a professional, as they say in Milan today”, and Premoli lists it as a neologism.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sporting sense, an athlete who is paid to compete, as opposed to an amateur, is recorded by Panzini in 1908;^[8][3] Sabatini–Coletti date it 1906.^[8][3] From the first sense came the use for anyone who works with skill and competence, and the ironic one for someone who makes a trade of politics or crime.^[2][9][5] Professionista alone is also a euphemism for a prostitute.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1842 – The word appears in the Milanese press.^[8]
• 1906 – Sabatini–Coletti's date for the sporting sense.^[3]
• 1908 – Panzini records the sporting sense.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A professional: someone who practises a profession, especially an intellectual or liberal one, such as a lawyer, doctor or architect: Per la ristrutturazione mi sono affidato a un professionista.^[2][9][3]
2. (sports) An athlete who competes for pay, as opposed to an amateur.^[2][9][10]
3. Someone who does their job with great skill and competence: Quel meccanico è un vero professionista.^[2][9][5]
4. (ironic) Someone who makes a trade of an activity that is not a profession, or of crime: un professionista della truffa.^[9][3][5]
5. (euphemistic) A prostitute.^[2][9]

Adjective

1. Professional, practising an activity or a sport as a profession: un fotografo professionista.^[3][10][5]

Word family

• semiprofessionista

Related words

• professione
• professionale
• professionismo
• professare

Usage notes

Libero professionista is a self-employed professional, who practises without being employed by the state or a company.^[2][9][5] Da professionista means “done very skilfully”.^[9][5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli