Today’s word of the day, bagnato (wet), is inspired by the dreadful weather we’ve been experiencing here in Wales. We’ve barely seen a couple of weeks of sunshine in nearly nine months!
bagnato
wet
Bagnato is an adjective that is also the past participle of the verb bagnare (to wet / to water). Bagnare, in turn, comes from the Latin balneare, a derivative of balnĕum meaning bathroom.
Its feminine and plural forms are as follows: bagnata (feminine), bagnati (masculine, plural) and bagnate (feminine, plural).
I miei capelli sono bagnati.
My hair is wet.
If you want to say that someone or something is not just wet but soaking wet, you can use the very common expression bagnato fradicio.
Interestingly, bagnato also functions as a noun to refer to a wet surface, such as a road or sidewalk.
Attento a non scivolare sul bagnato!
Be careful not to slip on the wet ground!
We’ve already seen bagnare, but here are a few extra terms that are etymologically related to bagnato:
- bagnarsi = to get wet
- farsi un bagno = to have a bath
- bagno = bathroom
- vasca da bagno = bath tub
- bagnante = bather (also used to describe people who spend their holidays on the beach)
- bagnata = dip (in the water)
- bagnino / bagnina = lifeguard
- bagnoschiuma = shower gel
Expressions and idioms featuring ‘bagnato’
A) Essere bagnato come un pulcino – B) Essere un pulcino bagnato
Literal translation: A) to be wet like a chick – B) to be a wet chick
English translation: A) to be soaking wet – B) to act very shy and awkward; to be exhausted or without energy (because chicks are born wet, awkward and lacking energy)
Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato
Literal translation: If it’s not soup, it’s wet bread – a very common proverb in Italy that you will hear in everyday conversation
English translation: It’s six of one and half a dozen of the other
Piove sul bagnato
Literal translation: It rains on the wet (surface)
English translation: When it rains, it pours
Matrimonio bagnato, matrimonio fortunato
Literal translation: wet wedding, lucky marriage
English translation: rain is good luck on your wedding day
Alternative expression: sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata (wet bride, lucky bride)
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
