Spazzatore

Spazzatore is an Italian masculine noun meaning a person whose job is sweeping, especially a street sweeper. The feminine form is spazzatrice and the plural spazzatori (masc.) or spazzatrici (fem.). The word derives from the verb spazzare, to sweep, and is closely related to other sanitation terms such as spazzamento (sweeping) and spazzatura (garbage).

Usage and context: In contemporary Italian, the term spazzatore is less common in everyday speech for modern municipal workers, where spazzino or operatore ecologico are more typical. Spazzatore tends to appear in historical, literary, or regional contexts, or when describing the role in a more general sense of someone who sweeps floors, pavements, or other surfaces. The expression can also be used metaphorically, as in spazzare via i problemi (to sweep away the problems).

Related terms and etymology: Spazzatore comes from spazzare, a verb with a long-standing presence in Italian. Spazzatura, meaning garbage or rubbish, shares the same linguistic root, reflecting the broader idea of sweeping away dirt. Spazzatino and spazzatura are not interchangeable but illustrate the family of words built from spazzare.

See also: Spazzare; spazzatura; spazzamento; spazzino. Note that while spazzatore is understood, it is often used in specific or historical contexts rather than as the everyday designation for current street-cleaning workers.