Italian word of the day: 'Lungaggine'
Ever been caught up in interminable red tape? Of course Italian has a word for that.
Anyone who's ever had to deal with Italian paperwork will feel this word in their soul: lungaggine, 'slowness' or 'delay'. (Click here to hear it pronounced.)
It's formed by taking the adjective lungo ('long' or 'slow') and adding the suffix ~aggine, which turns it into a noun while simultaneously adding a negative connotation.
You'll see the same pattern in words like stupidaggine ('stupidness', from stupido) or sbadataggine (‘carelessness’, from sbadato).
And while ~aggine works a lot like ~ness in English, it doesn't create an abstract noun, describing the trait of stupidness or carelessness, so much as an instance of that trait: it's more like an 'act of stupidity' or 'act of carelessness'.
Lungaggini (plural), then, are exasperatingly lengthy things – like a particularly verbose speech, a self-indulgently slow film, or typically anything that occurs inside a local government office.
Indeed, you're most likely to encounter it in the phrase lungaggini burocratiche: 'bureaucratic delays', or as you could put it, 'red tape'.
Che lungaggine, questo discorso!
This speech is such a drag!
Lo SPID è un strumento utile per chi vuole evitare lungaggini burocratiche.
A digital ID is handy for anyone who wants to avoid red tape.
Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then select the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
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Anyone who's ever had to deal with Italian paperwork will feel this word in their soul: lungaggine, 'slowness' or 'delay'. (Click here to hear it pronounced.)
It's formed by taking the adjective lungo ('long' or 'slow') and adding the suffix ~aggine, which turns it into a noun while simultaneously adding a negative connotation.
You'll see the same pattern in words like stupidaggine ('stupidness', from stupido) or sbadataggine (‘carelessness’, from sbadato).
And while ~aggine works a lot like ~ness in English, it doesn't create an abstract noun, describing the trait of stupidness or carelessness, so much as an instance of that trait: it's more like an 'act of stupidity' or 'act of carelessness'.
Lungaggini (plural), then, are exasperatingly lengthy things – like a particularly verbose speech, a self-indulgently slow film, or typically anything that occurs inside a local government office.
Indeed, you're most likely to encounter it in the phrase lungaggini burocratiche: 'bureaucratic delays', or as you could put it, 'red tape'.
Che lungaggine, questo discorso!
This speech is such a drag!
Lo SPID è un strumento utile per chi vuole evitare lungaggini burocratiche.
A digital ID is handy for anyone who wants to avoid red tape.
Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then select the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
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