professionista Italian · revision 39038

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1842, Milanese press|origins=la profiteor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /pro.fes.sjoˈnis.ta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''professionista''' ''m or f'' by sense (masculine plural professionisti, feminine plural professioniste)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|professione|-ista|t1=profession]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) Treccani and the GDLI derive it from [[professionismo]] instead.^(Treccani 2011)^(GDLI) The noun [[professione]] is [[bor|la|professiō|t=public declaration]], from [[m|la|professus]], the past participle of [[m|la|profiteor|t=to declare publicly]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wikizionario)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is the Milanese press of 1842, for a person who practises a profession.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010) The word was felt as new for some time: Mario Pratesi writes of “a professional, as they say in Milan today”, and Premoli lists it as a neologism.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sporting sense, an athlete who is paid to compete, as opposed to an amateur, is recorded by Panzini in 1908;^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Sabatini–Coletti date it 1906.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) From the first sense came the use for anyone who works with skill and competence, and the ironic one for someone who makes a trade of politics or crime.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Professionista'' alone is also a euphemism for a prostitute.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1842 – The word appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1906 – Sabatini–Coletti's date for the sporting sense.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ * 1908 – Panzini records the sporting sense.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|professional]]: someone who practises a profession, especially an intellectual or liberal one, such as a lawyer, doctor or architect: ''Per la ristrutturazione mi sono affidato a un professionista.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(sports)'' An athlete who competes for pay, as opposed to an [[dilettante|alt=amateur]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Someone who does their job with great skill and competence: ''Quel meccanico è un vero professionista.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(ironic)'' Someone who makes a trade of an activity that is not a profession, or of crime: ''un professionista della truffa''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(euphemistic)'' A [[m|en|prostitute]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Professional, practising an activity or a sport as a profession: ''un fotografo professionista''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[semiprofessionista]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[professione]]

+ * [[professionale]]

+ * [[professionismo]]

+ * [[professare]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Libero professionista'' is a self-employed professional, who practises without being employed by the state or a company.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Da professionista'' means “done very skilfully”.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}