carriera Italian · revision 38509

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1274, Brunetto Latini|origins=cel-pro *karros}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /karˈrjɛ.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''carriera''' ''f'' (plural carriere)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also wrote [[m|roa-oit|carrera]], [[roa-oit|cariera]] and [[roa-oit|charrera]].^(TLIO)^(LEI|12, 485)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|pro|carreira]], from [[la-lat|carrāria]], short for a phrase meaning “road for carts”, from [[la|carrus|t=wagon]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) Devoto–Oli and Gabrielli simply derive it from [[carro]], the GDLI calls it a derivative of that word with an ending of French type, and Devoto explains it as the Latin phrase used figuratively with the northern suffix [[-iera]], itself of French origin.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GDLI)^(Devoto 1968) Prati took it from [[fr|carrière]] instead.^(Prati 1951|246)

+

+ The LEI sets out from a Late Latin adjective [[m|la-lat|*carrārius|t=passable for carts]], which formed phrases meaning “cart road”; a noun was probably already formed in Latin, since Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|carraria]] is recorded in the Carolingian period, at Valpuesta in 804, at Cluny in 813 and at Lucca in 957.^(LEI|12, 485) The same word is [[ro|cărare|t=path]], [[fro|chariere]], [[ca|carrera]], [[es|carrera]] and [[pt|carreira]], and its inherited Italian outcome is the old [[carraia]].^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary) Meyer-Lübke held that the Italian word went on into Logudorese and into French “carrière”.^(REW 1935)

+

+ Latin “carrus” is a Gaulish word: the LEI notes that it is recorded from the 1st century BC, of the war wagon of the Gauls, and that it replaced [[la|currus]] and [[la|plaustrum]] and lives on in every Romance language.^(LEI|12, 644) Wiktionary traces it to [[cel-pro|*karros|t=wagon]] and to the Proto-Indo-European root [[m|ine-pro|*ḱers-|t=to run]], which also gave Latin “currus”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Brunetto Latini's ''Tesoretto'' (before 1274), where the poet sees Love “in a great ''carriera''”, an open course: ''E ’n una gran carriera / io vidi dritto stante / ignudo un fresco fante'' “and in a wide course I saw, standing upright, a naked young lad”.^(TLIO)^(GDLI) DELI dates to Brunetto both the sense “ground for chariot races and jousts” and “the fastest gait of the horse”, and Pannuccio dal Bagno (before 1276) has ''carrera'' for a road used by carts.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word meant a road, and the phrases ''prendere carriera'' “to set off” and ''fare carriera'' “to make one's way unaided” were already in use; figuratively it could mean a person's attitude or conduct.^(TLIO) The jousting ground is the sense of Renaissance poets such as Berni and Tassoni; the GDLI marks it as no longer used.^(GDLI)

+

+ The modern sense, a profession, an employment or a course of studies, is first recorded in Sforza Pallavicino in 1662.^(DELI 1999) From the idea of advancement in such a course come ''fare carriera'' “to rise in one's profession” and ''donna in carriera'' “career woman”, and the derivatives ''carrierismo'' and ''carrierista''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) The horse-riding sense survives in ''di gran carriera'' “at full speed”.^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ German used ''Carriera'' for the horse's gait about 1600;^(DIFIT) French ''carrière'' has the gait sense from 1534 and the career sense from before 1680, and English ''career'' came from the French word.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1274 – Brunetto Latini uses ''carriera'' in the ''Tesoretto''.^(TLIO)^(GDLI)

+ * Before 1276 – Pannuccio dal Bagno uses ''carrera'' for a cart road.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – The sense “fastest gait of the horse” is recorded in Brunetto Latini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1534 – French ''carrière'' is recorded in the horse-riding sense.^(DIFIT)

+ * About 1600 – German ''Carriera'' is recorded for the horse's gait.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1662 – Sforza Pallavicino uses the word for a profession or course of studies.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|career]]: a profession with a series of grades to be reached one after another, or the course of someone's studies: ''Ha lasciato la ricerca per la carriera diplomatica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Advancement in one's profession: ''Per lei la famiglia veniva prima della carriera.'', ''fare carriera'', to rise in one's job, ''in carriera'', bent on getting ahead.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(horse riding)'' The fastest [[m|en|gait]] of a horse, ''di gran carriera'', at full speed: ''Il ragazzo uscì di casa di gran carriera.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A road travelled by carts.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A ground where chariot races and jousts on horseback were held.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[carrierismo]]

+ * [[carrierista]]

+ * [[carrieristico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[carro]]

+ * [[carraio]]

+ * [[carraia]]

+ * [[fr|carrière]]

+ * [[la|carrus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}