-issimo

See also: -íssimo

Interlingua

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-issimo

1. Added to an adjective, creates an adjective. This suffix is an intensifier which adds a qualifier of "extremely" or "remarkably."

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin -issimus. Compare Spanish -ísimo and Portuguese -íssimo which are partly based on the Italian forms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈisːi.mo/, [ˈis̪ːi.mo]
• Rhymes: -issimo
• Hyphenation: -ìs‧si‧mo

Suffix

-issimo or -issima or -issimi or -issime

1. Added to adjectives to form superlatives.

   ‎buono (“good”) + ‎-issimo → ‎buonissimo (“as good as it gets, extremely good”)

   ‎grave (“serious”) + ‎-issimo → ‎gravissimo (“very serious”)

   ‎consigliato (“recommended”) + ‎-issimo → ‎consigliatissimo (“highly recommended”)

   ‎sconsigliato (“not recommended, inadvisable”) + ‎-issimo → ‎sconsigliatissimo (“lowly recommended, highly inadvisable”)

   ‎primo (“first”) + ‎-issimo → ‎primissimo (“very first”)

2. Added to adverbs to form superlatives.

   ‎bene (“well”) + ‎-issimo → ‎benissimo (“very well”)

   ‎spesso (“often”) + ‎-issimo → ‎spessissimo (“very often”)

   ‎piano (“softly”) + ‎-issimo → ‎pianissimo (“very softly”)

   ‎lentamente (“slowly”) + ‎-issimo → ‎lentissimamente (“very slowly”)

   ‎velocemente (“fastly”) + ‎-issimo → ‎velocissimamente (“very fastly”)

3. (often humorous) Added to some nouns to form extremes.

   ‎poltrona (“seat”) + ‎poltronissima (“front row seat”) + ‎-issima → ‎benissimo

   ‎finale (“final”) + ‎-issima → ‎finalissima (“grand final”)

4. Added to the stem of verbs ending in -ire to form the first-person plural imperfect subjunctive tense.

   ‎salire + ‎-issimo → ‎salissimo (“that we be raised, gone up, etc; that we have risen, gone up”)

Usage notes

• Terms formed with this suffix are invariably stressed on the antepenult.
• The adjectival suffix and the nominal suffix, the suffix -issimo are inflected by gender and by number (feminine -issima, masculine plural -issimi, feminine plural -issime).
• The adjectival and adverbial suffix can be used multiple times for emphasis, when the suffix is used multiple times it drops its last vowel except the last time:

  bellissimo ― very beautiful

  bellissimissimo ― very very beautiful

  ...

• When the adverbal suffix is used together with the suffix -mente, the suffix -issimo becomes -issima and it is always before the suffix -mente:

  velocissimamente ― very fastly

  velocissimissimamente ― very very fastly

  ...

• The stress of -issimo is always strongest than the stress of -mente.

Derived terms

Italian terms suffixed with -issimo

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈis.si.moː/, [ˈɪs̠ːɪmoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈis.si.mo/, [ˈisːimo]

Suffix

1. superlative degree of -ō