Italian and English are full of cognates, but some are used more frequently in one language than in the other. This is certainly the case with the Italian word presentimento, which, unlike the English equivalent presentiment, occupies a valuable place in the core lexicon of most Italians. Presentimento, which can be defined as an intuitive …
Have you ever found yourself racking your brains trying to find the answer to a problem? Then today’s verb is for you! Scervellarsi (to rack one’s brains) is made up of the noun cervello (brain) and the prefix s- which in this case denotes the absence or loss of something. About the pronunciationThe combination of …
Today we’ll be taking a look at the adjective schietto, which comes from the Gothic slaihts via the Tuscan stietto. Because schietto is an adjective, the ending changes in accordance with the gender and number. schiettomasculine, singular schiettafeminine, singular schiettimasculine, plural schiettefeminine, plural Schietto, in the most literal sense of the word, refers to something …
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 …
The Italian word sgarbo sounds just as unpleasant as the meaning it suggests. It can be translated in many ways, including rudeness, discourtesy, impoliteness, and slight depending on the context. Sgarbo is a masculine noun whose plural form is sgarbi. Because it starts with the consonant cluster sg-, the definite and indefinite articles it takes …
Kermesse is a Dutch language term that was borrowed in English, Italian, French and many other languages. Derived from ‘kerk‘ (church) and ‘mis‘ (mass), it originally denoted the mass said on the anniversary of the foundation of a church, in honour of the patron. kermesse country fair / festival Kermesse is an invariable feminine noun, …