pentito
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Italian pentito (“repentant”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pentito (plural pentiti)
- A criminal who cooperates with police or government authorities and testifies against or provides harmful information on fellow criminals; a turncoat or informant, usually a former Mafioso. [from 20th c.]
- 2007, Roberto Saviano, translated by Virginia Jewiss, Gomorrah, Pan, published 2017, page 50:
- According to a pentito in the 2004 DDA investigation, 50 percent of the shops in Naples alone are actually run by the Camorra.
Further reading edit
Anagrams edit
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Participle edit
pentito (feminine pentita, masculine plural pentiti, feminine plural pentite)
Noun edit
pentito m (plural pentiti)
- one who repents
- (crime) a criminal who cooperates with police or government authorities and testifies against or provides harmful information on fellow criminals; a turncoat or informant. Used mostly in reference to ex-Mafiosi
Anagrams edit
Spanish edit
Noun edit
pentito m (plural pentitos)