Italian Word of the Day

The words machine in English and macchina (feminine, plural: macchine) in Italian both derive from the Latin "machina", which in turn comes from the Greek "mekhos" meaning contrivance. Both refer to a mechanical apparatus with several parts, which together perform a particular task. Hanno costruito una macchina complicata con semplici materiali domestici. They built a complicated machine … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Macchina (machine / car )

The male counterpart to a gallina (chicken / hen) in Italian is a gallo (masculine, plural: galli). It comes from the Latin word gallus. Some of the most distinctive characteristics of the rooster are its red crest (cresta), dangling wattle (bargigli), puffed-up tail (coda) and most importantly, its crow (canto) which is represented by the onomatopoetic cock-a-doodle-doo in English or … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Gallo (rooster)

The words tantrum and whim both translate as capriccio (masculine, plural: capricci) in Italian. Derived from the antiquated form caporiccio, meaning fright or sudden start, it shares the same origin as the English word caprice. In the former sense of the word, it is often used to talk about the temper tantrums of young children. The expression fare i capricci, for example, means to throw a … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Capriccio (tantrum / whim)

Lightning, known as fulmine (masculine, plural: fulmini) in Italian, is a key element of a thunderstorm, along with thunder (tuono) and heavy rain (pioggia). Another word that translates as lightning is lampo. Whereas fulmine refers to the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud (or in simpler terms, a lightning bolt), lampo is the bright … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Fulmine (lightning)

The word for brush in Italian is spazzola (feminine, plural: spazzole). It comes from the verb spazzare meaning to sweep or to mop. The diminutive spazzolina literally means little brush whereas the masculine equivalent spazzolino is what Italians call a toothbrush. The augmentative spazzolone on the other hand specifically denotes a scrubbing brush / broom. Some other types of brushes … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Spazzola (brush)

A barrel brimming with beer. A plate overflowing with pasta. A heart bursting with joy. Anything that is full to the brim, be it physical or metaphorical, can be described using a simple adjective in Italian: colmo. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes depending on the gender and number of the person or thing being modified: colmo = masculine, singularcolma = feminine, … [Read more...] about Italian Word of the Day: Colmo (brimming / peak)