One of my favourite Italian words actually refers to a rather banal household object that we use multiple times throughout the day: the humble rubinetto, which is known as a tap in the UK, a faucet in the US, or a spigot in technical terms. rubinetto tap / faucet The etymology of this word is …
The word for a sink in Italian is lavandino. A word of northern origin, it is a derivative of the word lavanda meaning ‘wash‘ or ‘washing‘. lavandino It is a masculine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Oh no, il lavandino è intasato! Abbiamo uno sturalavandini? Oh no, the sink is …
The moment I entered an Italian bathroom for the first time, I was taken aback by the presence of a peculiar fixture resembling a secondary sink placed next to the toilet. Despite being completely and utterly unfamiliar with it, it didn’t require much imagination to deduce its true purpose! The bidet, pronounced as bidè in …
Some Italian words encompass multiple meanings, extending far beyond their original definitions, and our word of the day piumino is no exception! Piumino is a derivative of piuma meaning feather. It is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Originally, piumino designated the down of birds, which is the layer of …
The word moquette in Italian comes from the French of the same spelling. It refers to the type of wall-to-wall carpeting found in the most important living spaces of the home, as well as the material from which it is made. Moquette is an invariable feminine noun. Invariable simply means that its form does not …
The Italian word for door is porta. It comes from the Latin porta of the same meaning. If you have trouble remembering this word, try and associate it with the English word portal! Porta is a feminine noun whose ending changes from -a to -e in the plural. It takes the following definite and indefinite …