politica Italian · revision 38819

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1260–1261, Brunetto Latini|origins=grc πόλις}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /poˈli.ti.ka/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''politica''' ''f'' (plural politiche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la-lat|politica]], recorded in Apuleius,^(DEI|3001)^(TLIO)^(GDLI|13, 757) from [[grc|πολιτική|tr=politikḗ]] (with [[m|grc|τέχνη|tr=tékhnē|t=art]] understood), “the art of governing”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) The Greek adjective [[m|grc|πολιτικός|tr=politikós]] comes from [[m|grc|πολίτης|tr=polítēs|t=citizen]], from [[m|grc|πόλις|tr=pólis|t=city]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) GRADIT and Treccani treat the Italian noun as the feminine of [[politico]] used as a noun, with the word for “art” understood.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) [[fr|politique]] is recorded from the 13th century.^(DEI|3001)^(GDLI|13, 757)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is Brunetto Latini's ''Rettorica'' (about 1260–1261), for the science of the ways and forms of governing a community, and also the title of Aristotle's ''Politics'' and of a part of Latini's ''Tresor''.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) In the Italian ''Tesoro'' politics is “the highest science and the noblest craft among men”, because it teaches how to govern peoples and cities in peace and war.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old Italian word had many spellings, among them ''poleticha'', ''pulitica'' and ''polletica''.^(TLIO) The figurative sense “shrewdness, cunning in acting or speaking” is first recorded in Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (1618).^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3001) In the 20th century the word came to mean a course of action pursued to an end, first in phrases such as ''politica dei consumi'', typical of the First World War (1918), and then in any field: a company's pricing policy or a cultural policy.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ Today ''politica'' covers both “politics”, the activity and the public affairs people talk about, and “policy”, the line a government follows in a given field (''politica estera'', ''politica dei redditi'').^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Turkish ''politika'' was borrowed from it.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1260–1261 – Brunetto Latini uses ''politica'' in the ''Rettorica''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1294 – Latini uses it again in the ''Tesoro''.^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * 1618 – Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger uses it for “shrewdness”.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3001)

+ * 1918 – ''Politica dei consumi'' is recorded, for a line of action.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|politics]], the theory and practice of organising and governing the [[m|en|state]]: ''Ha studiato filosofia della politica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|policy]], the action of a government in a given field, or its way of governing: ''la politica estera'', ''una politica fiscale prudente''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The activity of those who take part in public life: ''Dopo la laurea è entrato in politica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Public affairs as a subject of conversation: ''A cena non si parla di politica.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The line followed by a person or an organisation in some activity: ''la politica dei prezzi di un'azienda''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Diplomacy, [[m|en|shrewdness]]: ''Ci vuole un po' di politica per convincerlo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[politichese]]

+ * [[impolitica]]

+ * [[politicare]]

+ * [[politicheria]]

+ * [[sottopolitica]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[politicante]]

+ * [[politicastro]]

+ * [[politico]]

+ * [[politologia]]

+ * [[politologo]]

+ * [[polis]]

+ * [[grc|πολιτική|tr=politikḗ]]

+ * [[fr|politique]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Politica'' is also the feminine of the adjective and noun ''politico'' (''una politica'', a woman politician).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) The GDLI records a rare literary ''politica'' “courtesan”, after Modern Greek usage noted by Tommaseo.^(GDLI|13, 757)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}