computer Italian · revision 38431

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1966, Corriere della Sera|origins=la computō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /komˈpju.ter/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''computer''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|computer]], from [[m|en|compute|t=to calculate]], which came from [[fr|computer|t=to compute, to count]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary) The English noun has this sense from 1897.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Devoto–Oli traces the verb back to [[la|computō|t=to calculate]], the source also of Italian [[computare]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to 1966.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) The GDLI quotes the ''Corriere della Sera'' of 29 January 1966, still with an English plural: a German had said that in the matter of ''computers'' the ratio between the United States and Germany was perhaps twenty to one.^(GDLI) DELI's first record is of 1968, in the ''Domenica del Corriere''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Writers of the 1960s still had to explain the word: Luciano Bianciardi described ''computers'' as electronic instruments that calculate in the binary system, and Alberto Arbasino mentioned poetry made with them.^(GDLI) Italian has native synonyms, ''calcolatore'', ''elaboratore'' and ''cervello elettronico''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The plural is usually invariable, ''i computer'', though ''computers'' is also used, and the Italian pronunciation is adapted.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI) Phrases name newer kinds of machine: ''computer portatile'' (laptop), ''computer di bordo'' (trip computer) and ''computer quantistico''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) Figuratively a ''computer'' is a person who calculates coldly or works with inhuman efficiency.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1897 – English ''computer'' is recorded in the sense “calculating machine”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1966 – The ''Corriere della Sera'' uses ''computers''.^(GDLI)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1968 – The ''Domenica del Corriere'' uses ''computer''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1977 – ''Computazionale'' is borrowed from English ''computational''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|computer]], an electronic machine that stores and processes data according to a program: ''Ho comprato un computer nuovo per lavorare da casa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A person who calculates coldly or works with machine-like efficiency.^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[computerizzare]]

+ * [[computeristico]]

+ * [[supercomputer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[computare]]

+ * [[calcolatore]]

+ * [[elaboratore]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Gender and number: ''il computer'', plural ''i computer'' (rarely ''i computers'').^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}