Word of the Day: ammazzare — to kill / wow!

Ammazzare comes from mazza — a heavy club or mace — via the Late Latin mattea or matteuca, a crushing weapon. To ammazzare something was originally to beat it to death with a mace: a vivid and unambiguous action. The word entered Old Italian from this Germanic-influenced Latin root, related to the French assommer (to knock out) and the English 'mace'. Over time, the literal meaning softened in colloquial use, and the exclamatory form 'ammazza!' — originally expressing that something was so impressive it could kill you with amazement — became a standard Roman expression of surprise. The Romanesco dialect, with its love of dramatic hyperbole, is largely responsible for spreading this exclamatory use across Italy.

The exclamatory 'ammazza!' is quintessentially Roman in origin and is most associated with Rome and Central Italy, though it is widely understood throughout the country. Romans use it for everything from genuine shock ('ammazza, è morto!') to mild surprise at an unexpectedly large portion of pasta. In other regions, similar exclamatory roles are filled by 'caspita!' (Central Italy), 'mannaggia!' (South), or 'cribbio!' (North). The hyperbolic Italian tendency to describe overwhelming experiences as 'deadly' also shows up in mi ha fatto morire dal ridere (it made me die laughing) — language where death and joy are strangely intertwined.