sicuro

Forms

sicuro (feminine sicura, masculine plural sicuri, feminine plural sicure, superlative sicurissimo)^[1] The old and literary form is securo.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sēcūrus (“free from care, untroubled”), through a Vulgar Latin form with the usual change of the unstressed ⟨e⟩ before the stress to ⟨i⟩.^[4][5][6][7] The Latin adjective is formed from sē- (“apart, without”) and cūra (“care, anxiety”), so its first sense was “without worry”.^[4][6][8][1] The same word is French sûr, the source of English sure, Occitan segur, Catalan segur, Spanish seguro and Portuguese seguro; it was borrowed into Old High German sihhur, whence German sicher.^[5][9][10]

De Vaan derives the noun from Proto-Italic *kʷoisā (“care”), perhaps from the root Proto-Indo-European *kʷei- (“to heed”), and thinks the adjective was formed directly from it.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the first record to 1207–1208.^[5] DELI's first example, from Iacopo Mostacci in the first half of the 13th century, has the Latin sense, “free from fear, calm”.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

“Protected from danger, well defended” follows at the end of the 13th century in the Novellino.^[4] Dante uses the word both of a person who knows something for certain and of one who acts with skill and self-assurance; in Boccaccio it can also mean “bold”.^[4][12] As a noun, il sicuro “what is certain” appears in the 15th century, and Tommaseo records an old sicuro for a surety on a loan.^[4][13] The adverbial sicuro!, “certainly, of course”, is in Forteguerri before 1735.^[4][13]

Derivatives followed: sicurtà (1253) continues Latin sēcūritās;^[5][4] sicurezza, which Nocentini finds in the late 13th century as segureza and DELI dates to Bembo, now names safety and security;^[5][4] sicura, the safety catch of a gun, dates from the 18th century.^[5][4] Modern compounds with sicurezza include uscita di sicurezza (1940) and valvola di sicurezza (1840).^[4] The word also passed into the Mediterranean Sabir.^[1]

Timeline

• 1207–1208 – First record, according to Nocentini.^[5]
• First half of the 13th century – Iacopo Mostacci uses it for “calm, free from fear”.^[4]
• 1253 – Sicurtà is recorded.^[4][5]
• End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses it for “safe from danger”.^[4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for “certain” and “self-assured”.^[4]
• 15th century – Il sicuro, “what is certain”, is recorded.^[4]
• Before 1735 – Forteguerri uses sicuro as an adverb, “certainly”.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. safe, free from danger or risk: un quartiere sicuro.^[6][2][14]
2. Of a place, offering protection, secure: un nascondiglio sicuro.^[6][2]
3. Of a person, feeling safe, unafraid: Accanto a lei mi sento sicuro.^[6][15]
4. sure, certain (of something): Sei sicuro di aver chiuso la porta?^[15][14][3]
5. Self-confident; steady, skilful: guida con mano sicura.^[6][2][15]
6. Of a fact, beyond doubt; bound to happen: una vittoria sicura.^[6][14]
7. Reliable, trustworthy: un collaboratore sicuro.^[6][14]
8. Of a device, working well and safely: un’auto sicura.^[6][2]

Noun

1. il sicuro: a safe place or situation: al sicuro, in safety, andare sul sicuro, to take no risks, di sicuro, certainly.^[6][3][16]

Adverb

1. Certainly, of course: «Vieni anche tu?» «Sicuro!»^[6][16][1]

Word family

• sicuramente
• sicurezza
• sicura
• insicuro
• insicurezza
• assicurare
• assicurazione
• rassicurare

Related words

• sicurtà
• cura
• Latin sēcūrus
• French sûr

Usage notes

A colpo sicuro “with certainty” is a calque of French à coup sûr.^[3] Essere sicuro del fatto proprio means to know exactly what one is doing.^[15][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 406
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 917
13. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
16. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli