While scrolling back through our older words of the day, I was shocked to discover that I’ve never written about one of my favourite words, addirittura. I believe now is the time to right that wrong! addirittura even / really Addirittura is an adverb derived from the archaic phrase a dirittura, where dirittura means direction. …
The word for a person (usually a king or ruler) who holds absolute power, and exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way, is despota in Italian. It comes from the Greek despótēs which was the word for the “master of the house”. In ancient Italian, the word ended in an -o rather than an …
Some Italian words take time to master because they lack a precise or direct equivalent in English. The adverb ormai is a prime example of this. ormai While ormai is commonly translated as now, by now, at this point, nearly, finally, anymore, and already, it’s not always clear when each translation is appropriate. Given its …
As you immerse yourself in Italian life, agio is a term you’ll quickly come to appreciate. After all, who doesn’t relish a life of ease and comfort? agio ease / comfort Agio is derived from the Provençal aize meaning proximity and the Late Latin adiăcens meaning near or comfortable. Being a masculine noun beginning with …
Recently my son has taken a keen interest in tongue-twisters, especially those that his dear old mum has trouble saying. A tongue-twister in Italian is known as a scioglilingua, which is the combination of the verb sciogliere (to melt) and the noun lingua (tongue). scioglilingua tongue-twister Scioglilingua is an invariable noun, so it’s form doesn’t …
Some words perfectly capture the essence of the concept they describe, and the Italian adjective mogio is a great example. It can be translated as despondent, dispirited, or dejected, among other terms. mogio despondent / dispirited / dejected Mogio most likely derives from the Venetian mògio (wet) which, in turn, comes from the Latin mollior, …