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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Mento (chin)

cover image with the word “mento” and a woman holding her chin in the background

The word for chin in Italian is mento. It derives from the Latin mentum of the same meaning. Being a masculine noun, mento takes the following definite and indefinite articles: il mentothe chinun mentoa chin i mentithe chinsdei menti(some) chins Mi sono svegliato con un brufolo enorme sul mento! I woke up with a huge …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Pollice (thumb / inch)

Pollice, whose origin can be traced back to the Latin pollex -lĭcis, is the word for thumb in Italian. Because pollice is a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: il pollicethe thumb un pollicea thumb i pollicithe thumbs dei pollici(some) thumbs The thumb is the outermost digit, accompanied by l’indice (index …

Read more