effetto

Effetto is a masculine noun in Italian that denotes the result or consequence of an action, event, or process. It can also refer to a perceptible phenomenon or manifestation in various contexts, from everyday language to science, medicine, and the arts.

The word derives from Latin effectus and entered Italian in the medieval period. It is cognate with the English "effect" and the French "effet," and is used with the definite article l'effetto in standard Italian. The plural is gli effetti.

In science and related fields, l'effetto is used to name specific phenomena, for example l'effetto Doppler and l'effetto fotoelettrico; the greenhouse effect is l'effetto serra. In medicine and psychology, l'effetto placebo describes symptom relief due to expectations rather than active treatment. In everyday language, phrases such as effetto domino describe a chain reaction of events, and in film and theater, l'effetto speciale refers to visual or auditory enhancements created for storytelling.