petaloso

Italian

un fiore petaloso ― a petalsome flower

Etymology

Coined by an eight-year-old schoolboy in a written assignment in February 2016, from petalo (“petal”) +‎ -oso (“-y, -ful, -some”). It became a topic of public discussion when the boy's teacher asked the Accademia della Crusca for an official opinion on the word's validity. While the word is morphologically well-formed, its lack of widespread use by native speakers prevented its recognition into the official dictionaries of the Crusca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pe.taˈlo.zo/, (traditional) /pe.taˈlo.so/
• Rhymes: -ozo, (traditional) -oso
• Hyphenation: pe‧ta‧ló‧so

Adjective

petaloso (feminine petalosa, masculine plural petalosi, feminine plural petalose) (neologism, colloquial, rare)

1. petalous, petalsome (full of petals)

Usage notes

• Usage of the term is chiefly colloquial, in reference to the event of the coinage itself which became publicly very known.