Heather Broster
The word for a fairy in Italian is fata. It comes from the Vulgar Latin fata, the neuter plural of fatum (destiny) that was later mistaken for the feminine singular form with the meaning “the deity of destiny” or “goddess of fate”. Only later did it assume the modern meaning of a mythical creature with …
The word for spoon in Italian is cucchiaio. Its origin can be traced back to the Latin cochlearium, a derivative of cochlea, which was the tool originally used to eat snails! Here are the definite and indefinite articles that accompany this masculine noun: il cucchiaiothe spoon un cucchiaioa spoon i cucchiaithe spoons dei cucchiai(some) spoons …
Is your Italian friend getting ready to celebrate a birthday? Then you may want to serenade him or her on the big day with the Happy Birthday song in Italian! The Italian version of this song is called Tanti Auguri a Te, which literally translates as Many Wishes to You. Tanti auguri! is one of …
If you are feeling depressed, upset or anxious about something, so much so that it causes a feeling of tightness in the stomach, a great word you can use to describe the feeling in Italian is magone. Magone is a masculine noun that derives from the Lombardic mago, which in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic …
Gloria is a love song written and composed in 1979 by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi. It was later translated into English and performed by Jonathan King. From 1979 to 1984, it sold 29 million copies all over the world and occupied the top spot on the European charts. Below you can watch the song …
Pullman is one of my favourite words in Italian, not because it sounds particularly sweet to the ear, but because of its interesting history. Before we turn our attention to the Italian definition, let’s take a brief look at the original meaning associated with the term. In America, pullman actually referred to a luxurious railway …