casino
/kəˈsiːnoʊ/
noun
Origin
Italian
casa — house
Overview
Meaning Now
- A public building or room for gambling games.
- A small country house or pleasure pavilion.
Literal older meaning
little house
Language path
Latin → Italian → English
Earliest form
casino
Earliest period
18th century
Journey
The term originally denoted a small 'summer house' or a private pavilion on an Italian estate, often used for music, dancing, or card games. As such spaces became synonymous with organized social gambling in the 19th century, the word transitioned from a architectural term to a function-based term.
Evolution
- Latin
casa
“cottage or hut”
- Italian
casino
“small house or villa”
Diminutive of 'casa' with '-ino' suffix.
- 18th-century English
casino
“a social hall or pleasure pavilion”
Initially borrowed to describe social clubs.
- 19th-century English
casino
“a gambling establishment”
Specialized to refer to buildings where gambling occurred.
Connections
Word parts
cas-
root
house
-ino
suffix
diminutive
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Related to casino
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.