vittime

Vittime is the Italian plural noun meaning "victims." The singular form is vittima, used with feminine articles and adjectives (la vittima, le vittime). In standard Italian, vittime refers to people who have suffered harm as a result of crime, accidents, disasters, war, or other harmful events.

Etymology and meaning: Vittima derives from Latin victima, which originally referred to a sacrificial offering. Over time, the sense broadened to include any person who suffers harm or is harmed by a particular event or action. In modern usage, vittime is common in news reporting, legal contexts, social discourse, and everyday language when identifying those affected by harmful incidents.

Usage and contexts: The term is employed to describe individuals or groups who have experienced injury, loss, or danger. It can describe victims of crime (victime di furto, vittime di rapina), accidents (vittime di incidente), natural disasters (vittime dell’alluvione), or armed conflict (vittime civili). In legal and administrative contexts, vittima is often paired with terms like "parte offesa" (the offended party) or "diritti delle vittime," referring to the rights and protections available to those harmed.

Grammatical notes: Vittima is a feminine noun; adjectives modifying it take feminine forms (una vittima innocente). The plural vittime is used with plural qualifiers and is accompanied by the plural article le. The term can be part of fixed phrases such as vittime innocenti (innocent victims) or vittime di guerra (war victims).

See also: Related concepts include vittima sacrificale in historical or religious discussions, and the broader topic of diritti delle vittime in law and policy.

Overall, vittime conveys the affected status of those harmed by harmful events, with a standard legal and journalistic usage in Italian.