COVIM, THE “ESPRESSO MISCELOSO”

Covim has decided to speak out in support of Matteo, the eight-year-old student from Coppacaro (FE) who coined the word PETALOSO (equivalent to “petalous”, meaning full of petals). Instead of underlining the non-existent word in red pencil, his teacher notified the Accademia della Crusca, the institution concerned with the purity of the Italian language.
And this is how the Accademia replied: “Dear Matteo, the word you have coined is a well-formed word that could be used in the same way as similar words that exist in the Italian language. A word becomes a part of our vocabulary if a lot of people use it and understand it, and a lot of people will start to say and write ‘How petalous this flower is!’ or, as you suggest, ‘Daisies are petalous flowers, while poppies are not very petalous’. It is not the academics who decide whether new words are beautiful or ugly, useful or useless. When a new word is on everyone’s lips (or on a lot of people’s), the academic realises that that word has become a word like all the others, and adds it to the dictionary”.
The phenomenon went viral right away, and lots of people started using the word “petaloso” on the social networks, inventing other similar words to express their support for the inclusion of the word in Italian dictionaries.
And Covim wants to do the same, with its unique blends of “espresso MISCELOSO”!