Recursiveness and Italian Compounds

The paper deals with the notion of recursiveness in compounding. It is shown that the notion found in the relevant literature is too broad and encompasses also the expansion process that could be better called iteration. The process of recursion can, in fact, be distinguished from the process of iteration if one accepts that recursiveness is characterised by two peculiar properties: identity of category with, and embedding of, the base compound. This strict definition of recursiveness is then utilised to discuss recursive Italian compounds.