Monstrum

monstrum [s. neutral, Lat.] - Term corresponding to “monster”, sometimes also used in Italian contexts with meanings which were proper to the Latin language, of prodigy, portentous fact or phenomenon, exceptional, both in a positive and negative sense, also referred to a person who reveals qualities, good or bad, going beyond the limits of normality, but without the detrimental connotations that monster acquired in modern use.