Italian Word of the Day: Fuso (melted / exhausted)

The other day, I accidentally left a plastic jug on the hot stove, and as you can imagine, it melted onto the burner within minutes. Although cleaning up the mess was quite a hassle, it did inspire me to write about the adjective fuso, which translates to melted, molten or liquefied. fuso melted / molten …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Sguardo (look / gaze)

Italian word "sguardo"

One of the most common words used to refer to a person’s look, gaze or glance in Italian is sguardo. sguardo gaze / look Sguardo comes from the archaic verb sguardare, which in turn is derived from guardare with the addition of the s- prefix. It is a masculine noun but given that it begins …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Lingua (tongue / language)

Today, we’re delving into a word that lies at the heart of human communication. Whether referring to the physical organ itself (tongue) or the words it generates through articulation (language), la lingua is indispensable for expressing and exchanging our thoughts effectively! lingua tongue / language Before we begin, let’s take a quick look at its …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Palestra (gym / gymnasium)

Italian word "palestra"

Because I’ll be turning 40 at the beginning of next year, I recently started going to the gym – or palestra in Italian – five days a week. Call it my crisi di mezza età (mid-life crisis), but I feel so much better for it. I have more energia (energy) to chase around my four-year-old, …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Agosto (August)

Italian word "agosto"

One of the hottest months of the year in the northern hemisphere is August, which is known as agosto in Italian. agosto August Agosto is the eight month (ottavo mese) of the year according to the Julian and Gregorian calendars and it is made up of 31 days (trentun giorni). As is the case with …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Spazio (space)

The English word space carries various meanings, and the good news for learners is that the Italian equivalent, spazio, covers nearly all of these meanings as well. spazio space Before we dive in, let’s quickly explore its etymology. Spazio derives from the Latin spatium, a word of uncertain origin that encompasses the same meanings as …

Read more