Society and politics

Eighth on this list is l’affluenza, and the English word it calls to mind is about money instead of people. « Affluence » is wealth — an affluent suburb, an affluent society — and the Italian noun has nothing to do with prosperity. It is built on affluire, to flow towards a place, and it names the flow itself: how many people actually came. At a polling station that is the turnout, which is the sense this list needs. L’affluenza è stata più bassa del solito says that fewer voters arrived than usual, and l’affluenza alle urne is the fixed phrase in an evening bulletin. Away from politics the word keeps the same picture and follows crowds anywhere: l’affluenza in spiaggia is how busy the beach was, and a notice reading orari di maggiore affluenza warns about the busiest hours. English needs « turnout », « attendance » or « numbers » by turns. What the two words do share is the Latin fluere, to flow, still audible in « confluence » — and only Italian kept the water in it.