parco Italian · revision 38769

+ {{homograph|1|park}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1348, Giovanni Villani|origins=la-med parricus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpar.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''parco''' ''m'' (plural parchi)^(Wiktionary)

+ The variant ''barco'' was used by Berni and is northern: it is recorded at Padua and Vicenza in 1482.^(Prati 1951)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The park is probably [[bor|fro|parc]], recorded in French in 1175.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The French word comes from [[la-med|parricus|t=enclosure]], first attested in the 8th-century Lex Ripuaria.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|2772)^(Wiktionary) DELI thinks the word is pre-Indo-European.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini derives it from a pre-Latin [[m|la|*parra]], which survives in [[es|parra|t=vine arbour]] and its Portuguese counterpart, while Treccani and Gabrielli think it probably Germanic.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020) Wiktionary leaves open whether the Medieval Latin word was borrowed from [[frk|*parrik]] or the reverse.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Medieval Latin word passed into [[goh|pfarrih]] (modern [[de|Pferch|t=pen, fold]]) and [[ang|pearroc]], the source of [[en|paddock]].^(Nocentini 2010) The French word also gave [[m|es|parque]] and English [[m|en|park]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Giovanni Villani, before 1348, writes that the king ''fece il parco della caccia presso a Gravina'', “made the hunting park near Gravina”: a large enclosed wood where game was kept.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|12, 578)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “large garden” is dated to 1832 by Battisti and Alessio.^(DEI|2772) From the 18th century ''parco'' was also a space for storing material, at first the artillery park (before 1786), later vehicles and goods; from this came the sense of the whole stock of vehicles, as in ''parco macchine''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ''Parco nazionale'' is a calque of American English ''national park'': Garollo in 1895 cited national parks as a typical institution of the United States.^(DELI 1999) The car age brought ''parcheggio'' (1938), ''parchimetro'' (1942) and ''parcheggiare'' (1954).^(Nocentini 2010) Italian passed the word on to Greek and Sardinian.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1175 – French ''parc'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses ''parco'' for a hunting park.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1786 – D'Antonj uses it for an artillery park.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1832 – The sense “large garden” is recorded.^(DEI|2772)

+ * 1895 – Garollo mentions the American national parks.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1938 – ''Parcheggio'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large wooded area, usually fenced, where game is kept and hunting is restricted.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # A protected natural area: ''parco nazionale'', ''parco marino''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A large public or private [[m|en|garden]] with trees, lawns and paths; a [[m|en|park]]: ''Ogni domenica corre nel parco vicino a casa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An area equipped for a purpose: ''parco giochi'' (playground), ''parco divertimenti'' (amusement park).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A yard or depot for materials, and the materials kept there.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The vehicles of a company or body, or those in circulation in an area: ''parco macchine''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[parcheggiare]]

+ * [[parcheggio]]

+ * [[parchimetro]]

+ * [[parcometro]]

+ * [[parcare]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|frugal}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1321, Dante|origins=la parcō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpar.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''parco''' (feminine parca, masculine plural parchi, feminine plural parche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is a learned word, [[bor|la|parcus|t=sparing, frugal]], from [[m|la|parcō|t=to spare, refrain]], the verb behind [[parsimonia]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The same Latin word is [[es|parco]].^(Nocentini 2010) DELI calls the verb's origin uncertain; de Vaan reports the proposal of Keller and Weiss to derive it from [[ine-pro|*pe-h₂erk-|t=to hold off]], the root of [[m|la|arceō|t=to keep off]].^(DELI 1999)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Dante uses the word before 1321 in the sense “sober, frugal”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) In the ''Purgatorio'' he also uses it for “slow”: a soul weighed down by Adam's flesh ''al montar su, contra sua voglia, è parco'', “is slow to climb, against its will”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Battaglia records an old form ''pargo''.^(GDLI|12, 578) From restraint in food and drink the adjective passed to restraint in spending, at times with the negative sense “stingy”, and to restraint in words and praise; of a meal it means simple and scant, as in Tasso's ''parca mensa''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Moderate, [[m|en|sober]], [[m|en|frugal]]: ''È parco nel bere.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Sparing with money, ''(derogatory)'' stingy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Sparing, reluctant to give: ''parco di lodi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a meal, plain and scant.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(literary)'' Slow.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[parcamente]]

+ * [[parchezza]]

+ * [[parcità]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[barco]]

+ * [[parsimonia]]

+ * [[fr|parc]]

+ * [[en|park]]

+ * [[la|parcus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}