Extra-grammaticality and neoformations in Petronius’ linguistic exaggeration: from nesapius to gaudimonium

Although the literature on the language of Petronius is manifold and highly detailed, it emphasizes rather the socio-cultural uses of the author’s language, intending to present an articulated picture of that society. Our analysis, on the other hand, has attempted to combine both particular word formations with the so-called vis comica in Petronius; for this purpose, the Cena Trimalchionis offers one of the best opportunities. Under the premise that nominal word formation follows clear morphological rules, even in ancient languages, it is possible to highlight some cases of so-called extra-grammatical formation. Previous research in a similar direction was carried out by Fruyt (2000), using, however, different terminology and a slightly differing framework.