...at least to me.
Posted inside a bus on an info scroll: "beware of pickpockets" (borseggiatori, those who take purses or bags).
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6329 posts
Zoe, I just looked in my Cassell's Italian dictionary. "borseggiare - to pick pockets" and "borseggio - pocket picking." I like borseggiatori - may be useful. We're off to Italy next week.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11357 posts
Yes a great word.... and one you will hear Italians say in stores and on transportation when they see someone working the location.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15236 posts
It's not new. It's the Italian word for pick pocket.
BORSEGGIARE = to pick pocket (verb)
BORSEGGIO = the crime of pick pocketing (noun)
BORSEGGIATORE = the person committing the act of pickpocketing (noun)
Italian crime statistics distinguishes this type of crime from other thefts ('furti').
Borseggi (pick pockets) are furti con destrezza (theft with skill)
Then there are furti without contact (like stealing a suitcase from a train)
Furti con scasso (break in)
Furti con strappo (violent snatching) or scippo
Sottrazione di beni comuni (subtraction of common goods)
etc. etc.
A country full of thieves must have words in the law for any type of theft, depending of nuances. Like the eskimos who have many words for snow depending on consistency, etc.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
Zoe,
That's a new word for me too. Thanks!
Posted by
752 posts
Borsaiolo - another word for Pickpocket.