Italian Word of the Day: Baffo (whisker / moustache)

When I first met my husband, he had a distinctive moustache and goatee, but since we had our son, he’s chosen to go clean-shaven. Honestly, I can’t say which look I prefer! In Italian, the word for moustache (or mustache) is the plural form of baffo, which is baffi. Baffo on its own refers to …

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Italian Word of the Day: Barba (beard)

Whether you love them or hate them, many men choose to grow a beard at some point in their lives. In Italian, the word for this type of peli del volto (facial hair) is barba. barba beard The word comes from the Latin barba of the same spelling and meaning. Barba is a feminine noun, …

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Italian Word of the Day: Sopracciglio (eyebrow)

Sopracciglio is a masculine noun that means eyebrow. Modelled on the Latin supercilium, it is the combination of ciglio (eyelash) and sopra (meaning ‘above‘). Before we begin, it’s important to clarify that this word has two possible plurals: the feminine plural le sopracciglia, which indicates a single pair of eyebrows, and the masculine plural i …

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Italian Word of the Day: Unghia (fingernail / toenail)

The word for a nail, as in the covering on the upper surface of the tip of the finger and toe in primates, is unghia in Italian. If you want to specify which part of the body you are referring to, you can use the terms le unghie delle mani (lit. the nails of the …

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Italian Word of the Day: Orecchio (ear)

Today we’re going to be talking about a very important body part: the ear! Before we begin, it’s important to clarify that there are two forms that derive from the Latin auriculam: the masculine noun orecchio and the feminine noun orecchia. The masculine singular orecchio is the most common form used to indicate the organ …

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Italian Word of the Day: Mano (hand)

Mano, which is the word for hand in Italian, has its origins in the Latin word manus, which also means hand. A curiosity about this word is that, despite ending in the letter o (which is usually associated with masculine nouns) mano is actually feminine. This is because the Latin manus is a fourth-declension feminine …

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