Italian Word of the Day: Cucchiaio (spoon)

The word for spoon in Italian is cucchiaio. Its origin can be traced back to the Latin cochlearium, a derivative of cochlea, which was the tool originally used to eat snails! Here are the definite and indefinite articles that accompany this masculine noun: il cucchiaiothe spoon un cucchiaioa spoon i cucchiaithe spoons dei cucchiai(some) spoons …

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Italian Word of the Day: Magone (the blues / down in the dumps)

If you are feeling depressed, upset or anxious about something, so much so that it causes a feeling of tightness in the stomach, a great word you can use to describe the feeling in Italian is magone. Magone is a masculine noun that derives from the Lombardic mago, which in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic …

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Italian Word of the Day: Pullman (coach / bus)

Pullman is one of my favourite words in Italian, not because it sounds particularly sweet to the ear, but because of its interesting history. Before we turn our attention to the Italian definition, let’s take a brief look at the original meaning associated with the term. In America, pullman actually referred to a luxurious railway …

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Italian Word of the Day: Gabbiano (seagull)

I spent most of my early life living in big cities, but for the past seven years, I’ve had the immense privilege of being able to live by the mare (sea). There is nothing quite like breathing in the fresh salty air and falling asleep to the sound of the waves and the gabbiani (seagulls)! …

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Italian Word of the Day: Ortica (nettle)

One of the more traumatic memories from my time living in Italy involves a walk along the River Po in Torino with a little girl I used to babysit. About halfway along the path, she decided to climb up the river bank, and took an unfortunate tumble into an enormous patch of nettles. Between her …

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Italian Word of the Day: Birra (beer)

An alcoholic beverage prized the world over is beer, known as birra in Italian. Like its English counterpart, its origin can ultimately be traced back to the German Bier. Birra is a feminine noun whose plural form is birre. The definite and indefinite articles are as follows: la birrathe beer una birraa beer le birrethe …

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