sessanta

Sessanta is the Italian word for the number sixty. It is a cardinal numeral used in counting, ages, dates, measurements, and percentages in Italian.

Etymology and usage: Sessanta derives from the Latin sexaginta. In Italian, it serves as the base for the 60s range, with 60 being sessanta and the subsequent numbers forming by adding units: sessantuno (61), sessantadue (62), sessantatre (63), sessantaquattro (64), sessantacinque (65), sessantasei (66), sessantasette (67), sessantotto (68), sessantanove (69). The next decade begins with settanta (70).

Cultural and contextual use: In Italian culture and media, sessanta is sometimes used as a label or reference to the 1960s, particularly in works intended to evoke that decade's style, politics, or music. It may also appear in phrases describing an age or a span of sixty years, such as anniversaries or generational references.

See also: Sessant’anni, which denotes a period of sixty years; other Italian numerals in the sixty range (sessanta, sessantuno, etc.).