The Italian word polizia (feminine, plural: polizie) and the English word police both derive from the Latin word politia, which in turn comes from the Greek word politeia meaning citizenship. Of course today both the Italian and English refer to the civil force of a state, responsible for maintaining public order and preventing crime. La …
A very easy adjective for English speakers to remember in Italian is timido, meaning shy, bashful or timid. Both timido and the English timid derive from the Latin word timidus. As with many adjectives in Italian, the ending tells you whether the subject is masculine or feminine / singular or plural. timido = masculine, singular …
In Italian, the diminutive suffixes -ino / -otto / -etto are often added to the end of animal names to denote their offspring. A good example of this is our word of the day, gattino (masculine, plural: gattini), which means kitten. Gattino is simply the word gatto (cat) with -ino attached to the end. When …
It is believed that the words jewel and gioiello (masculine, plural: gioielli) are both derived from the Latin word iocus, meaning joke or jest. In its plural form, gioielli translates as either jewels or the mass noun jewellery. Mia nonna tiene tanti gioielli dentro una scatola nella sua stanza. My grandma keeps lots of jewellery inside a box …
One look at the Italian word silenzioso and you can easily guess that it means quiet or silent in English. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on the subject’s gender and number. Mi piace lavorare in questa stanza perché è molto silenziosa. I like working in this room because it is very …
When Italians talk about money, they normally use the word soldi in everyday conversation. It is the plural of the word soldo, the name given to the Italian medieval silver coin, issued for the first time by Emperor Enrico VI in the late 12th century. The name derives from the late Roman coin solidus. Ho risparmiato abbastanza …