Etymologically
Log in

ricerca

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Italian word ricerca

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1470, Luigi Pulci
Ultimate origin
Late Latin circō

Pronunciation

  • /riˈt͡ʃer.ka/[1]

Forms

ricerca f (plural ricerche)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian ricercare + -a, a deverbal noun of the verb meaning “to look for again; to search carefully”.[2][3][4][1][5] Ricercare is formed with the intensive prefix ri- from cercare,[2][3] which continues Late Latin circāre (“to go round, encircle”), from circa (“around”) according to DELI,[2] or from circum (“round about”), from circus (“circle”), according to Nocentini.[3] DELI quotes Migliorini and Tilander on the change from “go round” to “look for”: it began in hunting, where the dog was made to circle ever more widely to pick up the scent, and a letter-carrier's inscription of the 2nd or 3rd century already says that he went round the whole region on foot and caught a hare with his dogs.[2][6]

Ricerca di mercato is a translation of English market research (1926).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An Old Perugian recercha appears in the city statutes of 1342, for going in person to check that a place exists.[6] DELI's first Italian record, the act of searching for something, is in Luigi Pulci before 1470, and the Ciriffo Calvaneo tells of a band that turned back after making a search: Poi dièr la volta, fatto una ricerca.[2][4][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The intellectual sense, a systematic inquiry meant to increase or test what is known in a discipline, is recorded before 1758 in Antonio Cocchi, and the phrase campo di ricerche “field of research” in a Tuscan journal of 1755.[2] Tommaseo still distinguishes the search for a person, the search for a thing and studies of the mind, and advises richieste rather than ricerche for commercial demand.[8]

The 20th century added the phrases of science and economics: ricerca di mercato (1959, as the name of a university course), ricerca operativa “operational research” (1965), and ricerca pura and ricerca applicata “pure and applied research” (1973).[2] In schools a ricerca is also a project in which pupils collect and arrange material on a set topic.[9][10] In computing, a motore di ricerca is a search engine.[11][1]

Timeline

  • 1342 – Old Perugian recercha in the city statutes.[6]
  • Before 1470 – Luigi Pulci uses ricerca “search”.[2][4]
  • 1755 – Campo di ricerche in a Tuscan journal.[2]
  • Before 1758 – Antonio Cocchi uses it for systematic scholarly inquiry.[2]
  • 1926 – English market research, the model of ricerca di mercato.[2]
  • 1959 – Ricerca di mercato as the title of a university course in marketing.[2]
  • 1965 – Ricerca operativa is recorded.[2]
  • 1973 – Ricerca pura and ricerca applicata enter the Zingarelli dictionary.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of looking for someone or something; a search, hunt: Le ricerche dei dispersi sono continuate per tutta la notte.[4][11][9][1]
  2. Systematic study carried out with scientific methods to extend or deepen knowledge; research: Ha dedicato dieci anni alla ricerca sulle malattie rare.[4][11][9][1]
  3. A piece of research, or the paper that sets out its results: Ha pubblicato una ricerca sul dialetto della sua valle.[4][11][10]
  4. A school project in which pupils gather material on a topic: Per domani devo finire una ricerca sugli antichi Romani.[9][10][1]
  5. The research of a country, field or period as a whole: La ricerca italiana ha bisogno di più fondi.[4][11]

Word family

  • ricercapersone
  • cercare
  • ricercare
  • ricercatezza
  • ricercato
  • ricercatore

Usage notes

In older and literary music, ricerca also meant a prelude or improvisation on a theme, from ricercare in the sense “to try the strings of an instrument”.[12][8] Common phrases are essere alla ricerca di “to be looking for” and dottorato di ricerca, the research doctorate.[11][9][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c 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. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 14, 505
  7. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 63
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 16, 64
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
Cite this entry

“Ricerca.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/ricerca. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·