killer Italian · revision 39200

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1934, La Domenica del Corriere|origins=en kill}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkil.lɛr/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''killer''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|killer|t=one who kills]], from the verb [[m|en|kill|t=to kill]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DELI and Zingarelli note that the English verb stands alone among the Germanic languages.^(DELI 1999)^(Zingarelli 2010) The word soon became international, first in connection with things American.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in ''La Domenica del Corriere'' of 6 May 1934, in the sense “hired murderer, hitman”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1957 the word also named a kind of warship, a “hunter” ship, in the ''Dizionario enciclopedico''.^(DELI 1999) It entered sports journalism by 1973.^(DELI 1999) Lepschy and Lepschy took it as an example of how deeply the word had entered contemporary Italian.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ From “hitman” it widened to any murderer, especially in the press, and to a clipping of ''serial killer''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Placed after a noun it means “deadly”: ''squalo killer'', ''zanzara killer'', ''virus killer''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) Figuratively it is a ruthless person who eliminates rivals, especially in politics, often by slander.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010) In biology ''linfociti killer'' or ''cellule killer'' are cells that destroy foreign or diseased cells, and in technology jargon ''killer'' is a product that displaces an older one.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1934 – ''Killer'' “hitman” appears in ''La Domenica del Corriere''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1957 – The ''Dizionario enciclopedico'' records ''killer'' as a type of warship.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1973 – The word is recorded in sports language.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hired [[m|en|murderer]], a [[m|en|hitman]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(by extension, journalistic)'' Any murderer; short for ''serial killer''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A ruthless person who pursues their aims by eliminating rivals, especially in politics.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(sport, surfing)'' An outstanding champion.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # (invariable, after the noun) [[m|en|deadly]], able to kill: ''un batterio killer''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(biology)'' In ''linfociti killer'', ''cellule killer'': cells that destroy foreign or diseased cells.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[killeraggio]]

+ * [[killerare]]

+ * [[superkiller]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sicario]]

+ * [[assassino]]

+ * [[en|killer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word is invariable in Italian (''i killer''), though the English plural ''killers'' is also found.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) It is pronounced with a double /l/ in Italian.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}