Heather Broster
Since the birth of our son, my husband and I have made a joint commitment to prioritise fitness in our lives. While I hit the gym and regularly attend spin classes, my husband has chosen to focus on running and swimming at our local piscina (swimming pool). Six months in and we’re seeing pretty good …
If you ask someone about their favourite of the four seasons, chances are they’ll say spring, or primavera in Italian. Sadly, this lovely time of year is coming to an end! primavera spring It derives from the Late Latin primavera, which goes back to the Classical Latin ablative primo vere, signifying “at the beginning of …
Anyone who owns a dog or cat knows the constant struggle of keeping sofas free of pet hair. In Italian, the word for hair or fur is pelo. pelo hair / fur Pelo is a masculine noun whose origin can be traced back to the Latin pilum of the same meaning. It takes the following …
One of my son’s favourite pastimes, like many kids his age, is jumping in muddy puddles (pozzanghere). Unfortunately, he’ll sometimes run into a puddle even without his boots (stivali) on! stivale boot According to Treccani, the origin of stivale dates back to Old French estival, but beyond that, its etymology is uncertain. However, Devoto-Oli suggests …
From greeting people with cheek kisses to never going out with wet hair, there are many signs that Italian blood courses through your veins. Of course, not every sign applies to every family, but if you can relate to even half of them, you probably grew up in an Italian household, whether in Italy or …
Italians have many ways to refer to someone who doesn’t like to spend money. You might be called spilorcio, taccagno, tirato, or tirchio. But if they want to sound more poetic, they’ll use the idiomatic expression avere le braccine corte. avere le braccine corte to have short arms Avere le braccine corte literally translates to …