Famigerato is an adjective that derives from the Latin word famigeratus, the past participle of famigerare meaning “to make famous”.
In ancient Italian, the original meaning was famous, used in a positive or ironic sense, but over time, the meaning shifted to infamous or notorious.
Adjectives such as famigerato always agree with the noun they describe, which means that they have to demonstrate whether they are masculine, feminine, singular or plural. This is achieved by changing the ending of the adjective. For example:
- il criminale famigerato = the notorious criminal
- la ladra famigerata = the infamous thief
- i criminali famigerati = the notorious criminals
- le ladre famigerate = the infamous thieves
Gli agenti di polizia hanno arrestato il famigerato ministro.
The police officers have arrested the infamous minister.
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.
