cinese Italian · revision 39231

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1606, Tommaso Campanella|origins=zh 秦}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡ʃiˈne.ze/, /t͡ʃiˈne.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cinese''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural cinesi)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older spelling ''chinese'' was used by Leopardi and Tommaseo and is now out of use.^(GDLI|3)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The 16th century also had ''chino'' (Sassetti, 1578), ''cini'' and ''sino''.^(DELI 1999)^(Prati 1951|292)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|Cina|-ese]], from the name of China.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The name reached the languages of Europe through [[pt|China]] in the 16th century.^(DEI|944)^(Prati 1951|292) Nocentini traces it through [[fa|چین|tr=Čīn]] and [[sa|चीन|tr=Cīna]] to the name of the Qin state and dynasty, [[zh|秦|tr=Qín]], which made China one empire in the 3rd century BC.^(Nocentini 2010) DEI also derives it, probably, from the name of the dynasty, and compares the ancient Greek names of the Chinese.^(DEI|944) In antiquity the Chinese were identified with the Seres, the silk people of [[serico]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is ''chino'' in a letter of Filippo Sassetti of 1578, and ''cinese'' in Daniello Bartoli in 1661.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the word to the letters of Tommaso Campanella, 1606, where he lists ''turchi, persiani, mori, chinesi'' among the peoples whose faith he compared with his own.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI|Supplemento 2009) Zingarelli gives a date before 1557.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century writers used the word for the customs and goods of China: Bartoli wrote that Chinese women placed the height of beauty in tiny feet, and Algarotti spoke of a Chinese bowl.^(GDLI|3) Leopardi described the Chinese language as built entirely on a system of compounds.^(GDLI|3)

+

+ Because Chinese writing is hard to read for Europeans, the noun came to mean any incomprehensible language, as in ''parlare cinese''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) In the 1970s and 1980s ''i cinesi'' were the supporters of Mao Zedong's line in European politics, and by extension the far left.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) Cooks call a conical steel strainer with very fine holes a ''cinese''.^(GRADIT 2003) ''Cineseria'', a Chinese-style ornament or knick-knack, is French ''chinoiserie'', first used in its French form and recorded as ''chineseria'' in 1927.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1557 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * 1578 – Sassetti uses ''chino'' “Chinese”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1606 – Campanella writes ''chinesi''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1661 – Daniello Bartoli uses ''cinese''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1905 – French ''chinoiserie'' is used in Italian.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1927 – ''Chineseria'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to [[Cina|alt=China]] and its people: ''Abbiamo cenato in un ristorante cinese vicino alla stazione.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(politics, historical)'' Following the political line of the People's Republic of China under [[m|en|Mao]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A native or inhabitant of China.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' In the 1970s and 1980s, a supporter of [[m|en|Maoism]] in Europe; a far-left [[m|en|extremist]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The Chinese [[m|en|language]]: ''Mia figlia studia cinese all'università.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' An incomprehensible language: ''Per me la fisica quantistica è cinese.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(cooking)'' A conical steel [[m|en|strainer]] with very fine holes.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cineseria]]

+ * [[cinesino]]

+ * [[anticinese]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Cina]]

+ * [[sinologo]]

+ * [[serico]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ombre cinesi'' is the shadow play made with the hands against a lit wall, ''scatole cinesi'' a set of nested boxes, and ''morra cinese'' the game of rock, paper, scissors.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GRADIT 2003) The /s/ between vowels is pronounced voiced or voiceless.^(Wiktionary)^(Zingarelli 2010) GRADIT lists a separate ''cinese'' “of Cino”, from the name of a village in the province of Sondrio, recorded in 1961.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}