cercare Italian · revision 37497

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1250, Giacomo da Lentini|origins=la circus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡ʃerˈka.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cercare''' (first-person singular present cérco, first-person singular past historic cercài, past participle cercàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''ciercare'' and a past participle ''cérco''.^(GDLI|2, 988)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|circō|alt=circāre|t=to go around]], from [[la|circā|t=around]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini derives it from [[m|la|circum|t=round about]], the old accusative of [[m|la|circus|t=circle]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(de Vaan 2008) The verb is panromance: [[fro|cerchier]] (modern [[fr|chercher]], by assimilation of the first consonant to the second), [[oc|cercar]], [[ca|cercar]], [[es|cercar]] and [[pt|cercar]], which mean “to surround”, [[sc|chilcare]] and [[ro|cerca]], “to try”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|863) DÉRom reconstructs the common ancestor as [[la-vul|*circō|alt=*/ˈkɪrk-a-/|t=to go round]].^(DÉRom)

+

+ The change from “to go round” to “to look for” is generally put down to hunting, where a dog is made to circle ever wider to pick up the trail;^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|14, 505)^(Devoto 1968|89) Migliorini, quoted by DELI, cites an inscription of the 2nd or 3rd century in which a messenger says “circavi totam regionem pedestrem et canibus prendi leporem” (I went round the whole region on foot and caught a hare with dogs).^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|14, 505)^(Devoto 1968|89) The LEI follows this view.^(LEI|14, 505) The Latin noun is probably a loan from [[grc|κρίκος|tr=kríkos|t=ring]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250: “l'avenente / eo vo cercando, ed ho noie e pene” (I go seeking the lovely one and have troubles and pains), in the sense “to try to find”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|2, 988) The TLIO's first record is the Venetian ''Proverbia que dicuntur''.^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian kept the older sense “to go through a place, to travel around, to explore”, recorded from the end of the 13th century to Tasso, and a sense “to surround” in Brunetto Latini.^(LEI|14, 505)^(DEI|863)^(TLIO) The sense “to strive to obtain” is in Dino Compagni in 1310–1312.^(DELI 1999) Mendicant friars went ''alla cerca'', begging for alms, a sense of ''cerca'' found in Salimbene's Medieval Latin and in Italian before 1563.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Modern Italian adds ''cercare di'' + infinitive, “to try to”, and many set phrases: ''cercare il pelo nell'uovo'' (to split hairs), ''cercare un ago in un pagliaio'' (to look for a needle in a haystack) and the proverb ''chi cerca trova'' (seek and you shall find).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) ''Cercare Maria per Ravenna'' or ''per Roma'' means to look for trouble or for what cannot be found.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''cercare''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for “to strive to obtain”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses the noun ''cerca''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Cercatore'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 15th century – ''Ricerca'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|look for]], to search for: ''cerco gli occhiali da un'ora''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To search a place, to look through: ''ho cercato in tutti i cassetti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # To try to find out: ''cercare la causa del guasto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # To try to get, to seek: ''cercare lavoro'', ''cercare casa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # To ask for someone: ''ti ha cercato tuo fratello''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # To ask for trouble: ''cercare guai'', ''se l'è cercata'', he asked for it.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''cercare di'' + infinitive: to [[m|en|try]]: ''cerca di riposarti''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' To go through, to explore a region.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cerca]]

+ * [[cercatore]]

+ * [[ricercare]]

+ * [[ricerca]]

+ * [[ricercatore]]

+ * [[ricercato]]

+ * [[cercapersone]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cerchio]]

+ * [[circa]]

+ * [[circo]]

+ * [[fr|chercher]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}