infortunato

Infortunato is a term in Italian with two primary meanings. As an adjective, it describes someone who is unlucky or experiencing misfortune. In medical or legal contexts, infortunato is also used as a noun to denote a person who has sustained an injury, i.e., the injured party.

Etymology: The word derives from the prefix in- meaning “not” and fortunato meaning “fortunate,” originally indicating someone not fortunate. The related noun infortunio refers to an injury or accident.

Usage and grammar: The form agrees with gender and number of the noun it modifies or denotes. The noun usage typically appears as l’infortunato for a male injured person and l’infortunata for a female; plural forms follow standard Italian gender agreement.

In context, infortunato can describe a person who has suffered harm in an incident, or it can describe someone who is experiencing bad luck or misfortune in a broader sense. The term is commonly found in everyday language, journalism, and medical or legal writing when the emphasis is on harm, injury, or misfortune.

See also: fortunato, sfortunato, infortunio.

Examples: Il giocatore è rimasto infortunato durante la partita. L’infortunio ha richiesto un breve ricovero in ospedale. Gli infortunati sono stati assistiti dalle autorità sul posto.