detective Italian · revision 38092

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1891, La Civiltà Cattolica|origins=ine-pro *(s)teg-}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /deˈtɛk.tiv/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''detective''' ''m or f'' by sense (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|detective]], recorded in English in 1856 and shortened from the phrase “detective policeman”, a policeman who finds things out.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(GDLI) The English adjective is from [[m|en|detect|t=to discover]], from [[la|dētegō|t=to uncover, reveal]] (past participle [[m|la|dētēctus]]), formed from [[m|la|dē-]] and [[m|la|tegō|t=to cover]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The Latin verb goes back to [[ine-pro|*(s)teg-|t=to cover with a roof]].^(Wiktionary) The noun later also came to mean the private investigator (“private detective”).^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ DEI says the word came into fashion with detective novels, and passed into French as well (1871).^(DEI|1266) DELI thinks it more likely that it spread through the crime reports of newspapers, since at the end of the 19th century detective novels were not yet in vogue in Italy.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in the Jesuit review ''La Civiltà Cattolica'' of 1891, for a private investigator or police detective.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Sabatini–Coletti dates the word to 1864.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) An early Hoepli encyclopedia defines it as a man of the secret police.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word has kept its meaning, an investigator, usually a private one.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) With the success of crime fiction the phrase ''detective story'' “crime novel” was also borrowed, beside the native ''romanzo giallo''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1856 – English ''detective'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1864 – Sabatini–Coletti's date for Italian ''detective''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1871 – French ''détective'' is recorded.^(DEI|1266)

+ * 1891 – ''La Civiltà Cattolica'' uses ''detective''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|detective]], an investigator, especially a private one: ''Ha assunto un detective per far seguire il socio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[detectivistico]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[investigatore]]

+ * [[en|detective]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word is masculine and feminine and usually invariable, though the English plural ''detectives'' is also used.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) It is pronounced /deˈtɛktiv/ in Italian, beside the English pronunciation.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}