The adjective spaventoso in Italian is interesting in that it has either a positive or negative connotation depending on how it is used. In its negative and more traditional sense, it describes anything that causes fright or arouses feelings of terror and bewilderment. Some possible translations including scary, frightening, frightful, terrible, horrible or dreadful. Ieri …
Pennello is the term in Italian for any kind of small brush used for applying paint or dye to a surface. It comes form the Latin penellus, which is the diminutive of penis (‘tail’). Pennello is a masculine noun, and it is used with the following articles: If the brush is designed for an artist, …
Both the English caramel and the Italian caramella derive from the Spanish caramelo, which in turn can be traced back to the Latin calamellus, the diminutive of calamus (sugarcane). Caramel and caramella can be considered false friends, however, in that the Italian word refers to any piece of candy or sweet made of sugar, whereas …
Scopa is the word for broom in Italian. It is a feminine noun that comes from the Latin scopae meaning twigs. The definite and indefinite articles you need to use with this word are as follows: La strega vola sulla sua scopa. The witch flies on her broom. Here are some verbs that often appear in …
Poltrona is the word for a large and comfortable seat, equipped with backrest and armrests. It derives from the archaic word poltro meaning bed. In English, the most common translation is armchair. Poltrona is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: la poltronathe armchair una poltronaan armchair le poltronethe armchairs …
In Christian and Jewish belief, the enemy of Dio (God) and the supreme spirit of evil is il Diavolo (the Devil), otherwise known as Satana (Satan). You will see this word written with both a capital letter ‘D’ and a lower case ‘d’. Generally speaking, the capital letter is used when referring specifically to Satan, …