Italian man Francesco Terrone, 59, is seeking to have the prestigious Accademia della Crusca amend its definition of terrone.

The society of scholars published an article exploring the origin of the term, which is used as a derogatory term for people from southern Italy.

Mr Terrone resorted to court after failing to convince the institution to change the article to reflect positive associations of the word and its use as a surname.

Salerno lawyer Antonio Cammarota will argue that the court should “order the academy to modify its definition”.