tabefatto

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin tābefactus, perfect passive participle of tābefaciō (“to melt, dissolve”), derived from Classical Latin tābēs (“decay; melting”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.beˈfat.to/
• Rhymes: -atto
• Hyphenation: ta‧be‧fàt‧to

Adjective

tabefatto (feminine tabefatta, masculine plural tabefatti, feminine plural tabefatte) (literary)

1. putrefied, rotten

   Synonyms: imputridito, putrido

   Antonym: sano

2. corrupted, infected

   Synonyms: corrotto, infetto

   Antonyms: incorrotto, puro

   • 1343, Giovanni Boccaccio, Amorosa visione [Loving Vision]‎, published 1833, page 45:

     Ma le tue molte tirano il liquore ¶ Mescolato col limo, e tabefatte ¶ Corrompon l’altre, e muoion con dolore.

     But many of yours [sheep] lap up the liquid mixed with mud, and, [having become] tainted, they infect the others, and die painfully

3. (by extension) filthy, dirty

   Synonyms: imbrattato, lordo

   Antonyms: (literary) mondo, (uncommon) netto, pulito

Related terms

• tabe
• tabico
• tabido

Further reading

• tabefatto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana