giocatore Italian · revision 39023

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=late 13th century, Novellino|origins=la iocus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /d͡ʒo.kaˈto.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''giocatore''' ''m'' (plural giocatori, feminine giocatrice)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian had ''giucatore''; the literary form is ''giuocatore''.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|giocare|-tore]], the agent noun of the verb “to play”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Nocentini 2010) Compare [[fr|joueur]], [[es|jugador]], [[pt|jogador]] and [[ro|jucător]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The verb [[giocare]] continues [[la|iocō|t=to jest, to play]], a variant of [[m|la|iocor|t=to jest]], from [[m|la|iocus|t=jest, game]]; it is pan-Romance.^(Nocentini 2010) The old form with ⟨u⟩ was replaced by ⟨o⟩: in 1726 Anton Maria Salvini remarked that the good old writers wrote ⟨giucatore⟩ where his contemporaries wrote ⟨giocatore⟩.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the ''Novellino'', at the end of the 13th century, for one who plays a game for amusement.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) After a meal some guests play at dice, at tables or at chess, and when a dispute arises among the ''giucatori'' the duke settles it.^(GDLI|6, 793)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “one who plays sports or athletic games, for passion or as a trade” is recorded before 1364 in Zanobi da Strata.^(DELI 1999) Boccaccio's Ser Ciappelletto was a great ''giucatore'' and a user of loaded dice, which shows the sense “gambler”, still current.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(GRADIT 2003) Later the word took in the speculator on the stock exchange (''giocatore di borsa'') and, figuratively, a cunning, unscrupulous person.^(Gabrielli 2020)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

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+ In modern use it is above all the player of a team game, especially football.^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 13th century – ''Giucatore'' appears in the ''Novellino''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1348–1353 – Boccaccio calls Ser Ciappelletto a gambler.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+ * Before 1364 – Zanobi da Strata uses it for a player of athletic games.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1726 – Salvini contrasts the old ''giucatore'' with ''giocatore''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|player]]: one who takes part in a game for amusement: ''Per questa partita servono almeno quattro giocatori.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # One who plays a [[sport]] as an amateur or a professional: ''un giocatore di pallavolo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A [[m|en|gambler]], one who plays games of chance habitually: ''È diventato un giocatore incallito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative, rare)'' A cunning, unscrupulous person.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[giocatrice]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[giocare]]

+ * [[gioco]]

+ * [[giocattolo]]

+ * [[la|iocus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The feminine is ''giocatrice''; the popular ''giocatora'' is now disused.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary) A ''giocatore di borsa'' is a stock-market speculator.^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}