giovanissima

Giovanissima is the feminine singular form of the Italian adjective giovanissimo, meaning “very young” or “extremely young.” It is used to describe feminine nouns and can function attributively (before the noun) or predicatively (after the verb essere). The word stems from giovine, itself derived from Latin iuvenis, with the superlative suffix -issimo that adds emphasis.

Forms in full are: masculine singular giovanissimo; feminine singular giovanissima; masculine plural giovanissimi; feminine plural giovanissime. In everyday Italian, giovanissima commonly appears in contexts involving people, such as "una cantante giovanissima" or "un’attrice giovanissima." The -issima suffix signs a strong degree of youthfulness and can convey admiration or a sensational tone in media language or informal speech.

In broader use, giovanissima can describe non-person subjects when the emphasis is on youthfulness, for example, "una startup giovanissima" to denote a very young company. The term is most natural when the speaker wants to highlight age as a salient feature rather than other qualities.

Comparison with related terms: giovane is the base adjective meaning “young,” while giovanile describes youthfulness in a general, often more neutral sense (as an adjective or noun). The form giovanissima is specifically feminine singular; masculine equivalents include giovanissimo and giovanissime or giovanissimi for feminine or masculine plurals respectively.

See also: giovane, giovanile, suffisso -issimo.