dilettoso

Italian

Etymology

From diletto +‎ -oso.

Adjective

dilettoso (feminine dilettosa, masculine plural dilettosi, feminine plural dilettose)

1. (literary) pleasant, delightful, delectable
   • 1300s–1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto I”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[1], lines 76–78; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Ma tu perché ritorni a tanta noia? / perché non sali il dilettoso monte / ch’è principio e cagion di tutta gioia?

     But why do you go back to such anguish? Why don't you climb the delightful mount which is the source and cause of every joy?

Derived terms

• dilettosamente

Further reading

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