elettrico Italian · revision 39336

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1660, Lorenzo Magalotti|origins=grc ἤλεκτρον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /eˈlɛt.tri.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''elettrico''' (feminine elettrica, masculine plural elettrici, feminine plural elettriche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|électrique]], recorded in French in the same year, 1660, from [[la-new|electricus]].^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Treccani derive it directly from the New Latin word.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) The Latin adjective is usually credited to the English physician William Gilbert, the author of a treatise on the magnet published in 1600, though it is documented only somewhat later.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|1440) Gilbert formed it from [[la|ēlectrum|t=amber]], a loan of [[grc|ἤλεκτρον|tr=ḗlektron|t=amber]], because the attraction of light bodies that he studied was first observed in amber rubbed with cloth.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The other words of the family also came through French: [[elettricità]] in 1715, after French [[m|fr|électricité]], which itself follows the English [[m|en|electricity]] of 1646, and [[elettrizzare]] in 1739, after [[m|fr|électriser]].^(DELI 1999) English had [[m|en|electric]] by 1646 as well.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lorenzo Magalotti uses the adjective in 1660 for substances that attract light bodies when rubbed, such as amber; he writes of ''sustanze elettriche'' “electric substances”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Prati 1951|401) This was the sense of the 17th-century experiments of the Accademia del Cimento, which Magalotti recorded.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 18th century the adjective followed the new science of electricity: Francesco Algarotti already used [[elettrizzare]] in the figurative sense “to thrill, excite” in 1746.^(DELI 1999) With the spread of electric power in the 19th and 20th centuries the word came to describe every machine or device driven by electricity: ''luce elettrica'', ''treno elettrico'', ''sedia elettrica'' (the last after English ''electric chair'').^(GDLI)^(DEI|1440)

+

+ Figurative uses describe a tense or restless mood, or a lively person who cannot keep still.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) ''Blu elettrico'' is a brilliant blue like the colour of an electric spark, a usage DEI considers a Gallicism.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(DEI|1440) As a noun, ''elettrico'' names a worker in the electricity industry, mostly in the plural, a usage recorded from 1954.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1600 – William Gilbert's ''De Magnete'' is credited with the New Latin ''electricus''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1660 – Lorenzo Magalotti uses ''elettrico''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1715 – ''Elettricità'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1739 – ''Elettrizzare'' appears, in Antonio Conti.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1886 – ''Elettricista'' “electrician” appears in the title of a technical manual.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1931 – ''Elettrificare'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1954 – The noun ''elettrico'' “electricity worker” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|electric]], [[m|en|electrical]]: relating to electricity ([[elettricità]]), its production and its use: ''L'impianto elettrico della casa è da rifare.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of a machine or device: working by electricity, or producing it: ''una chitarra elettrica'', ''una centrale elettrica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(zoology)'' Of the organs of certain fish, such as the [[torpedine]]: producing electric discharges.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative, colloquial)'' Tense, nervous, or restless and full of energy: ''Prima dell'esame era elettrico.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # In ''blu elettrico'': a vivid, bright blue.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly in the plural)'' A worker in the electricity industry.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[elettricità]]

+ * [[elettricista]]

+ * [[elettrificare]]

+ * [[elettrificazione]]

+ * [[elettrizzare]]

+ * [[elettrizzante]]

+ * [[elettrizzazione]]

+ * [[elettricamente]]

+ * [[dielettrico]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[elettro]]

+ * [[la|electrum]]

+ * [[fr|électrique]]

+ * [[en|electric]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}