nottivago (night wandering)
Some words are inherently associated with poetic language. Ephemeral. Bucolic. Labyrinthine. Mellifluous. It’s possible to hear them in everyday conversations, but you’re more likely to run into them while reading Shakespeare or studying for a standardized test. They’re artistic, evocative, and specific. The Italian nottivago is one such word. Now, there is no perfect English translation of nottivago so, before I define it, let me provide a few examples of how the word is used:
Have you ever watched a time-lapse video where stars seem to sail across the night sky? Those stars are nottivago (le stelle nottivaghe).
Have you ever been scared, or seen someone get scared, by a bat suddenly flying out of the darkness? That bat is nottivago (il pipistrello nottivago).
Have you encountered either a spirit or a strong breeze floating through a haunted house in the middle of the night? Whether it was a ghost or the wind, both are nottivago (il fantasma nottivago o il vento nottivago).
Do you often stay up late for no particular reason? You might be un nottivago.
Nottivago means “of something that something wanders at night” or “a night-roamer.” Though it comes from the Latin word, noctivagus, it’s literally just the words for night (notte) and wandering (vagante) smashed together. Interestingly, the word is heavily tied to mythology and astronomy. Nottivago has been used to describe both the followers of Dionysus and the Chariot of Apollo as well as various constellations and comets. These associations provide the word with an otherworldly, distant, almost supernatural connotation – a bit like the English word “celestial.”
It's most common to see nottivago used as an adjective, but it’s also a noun for a person, animal, etc. who leads a kind of hazy, nocturnal lifestyle. However, the word nottambulo (nightwalker) is a better translation for the terms night owl or nighthawk.
So, let's say an Italian asked you the cliché “early bird or night owl” question. Even though nottambulo is the more traditional answer, you could respond with nottivago as well. The only issue with nottivago is that some Italians use nottivago as a euphemism for a prostitute and, while that’s totally fine and needs to be destigmatized, it’s not normally how people respond to the original question.
Allora, until we meet again, in bocca al lupo.
Sources | 1 | 2 |
