Italian Word of the Day: Bruco (caterpillar)

As children, many of us are fascinated with the process by which a bruco (masculine, plural: bruchi) – the Italian word for caterpillar – turns into a butterfly (farfalla). The story begins with a caterpillar hatching from an egg (uovo). The caterpillar then stuffs itself with leaves, growing fatter and longer until one day, it …

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Italian Word of the Day: Uccello (bird)

The word for bird in Italian is uccello (masculine, plural uccelli), and it comes from the Latin aucellus. By transforming it into its diminutive form uccellino, you get the word for baby bird, fledgling or nestling. Below are various kinds of birds with which you might be familiar: L’uccello è entrato dalla finestra. The bird …

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How to Say “Dog” in Italian – Cane

Today’s post is all about man’s best friend! The word for dog in Italian is cane (plural: cani), which is easy to remember as it sounds similar to the word canine. It comes from the Latin canis meaning dog. The feminine of cane is cagna (bitch). In addition to referring to a bad or nasty …

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Italian Word of the Day: Orso (bear)

The word for bear in Italian is orso and it derives from the Latin word ursus. It is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Today only eight species of bear are still in existence: Bears – like humans – tend to be omnivorous (onnivoro) with the only exceptions being the …

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Italian Word of the Day: Pecora (sheep)

The word pecora (feminine, plural: pecore) is the common name for all bovine mammals of the genus Ovis, comprising six wild species and numerous domestic breeds. It is also the specific term for the female adult sheep. The male is known as montone or ariete (ram) whereas the offspring is called agnello (lamb) up to …

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Italian Word of the Day: Squalo (shark)

The word for shark in Italian is squalo (masculine, plural: squali) – not to be confused with the adjective squallido which means run-down or sleazy! Like great deal of Italian words, it finds its origins in Latin (squalus). Because squalo begins with s + consonant, it takes the indefinite article uno instead of un (a …

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