The Italian word for success is the similar sounding successo (masculine, plural: successi). Both words can be traced back to the Latin word “successus” of the same meaning. The expression avere successo (lit: to have success) translates as to be a success or to be successful. Although avere is by far the most common, you …
Bislacco is one way of saying eccentric, weird or quirky in Italian. It is thought to derive from the Venetian bislaco, which in turn comes from the Slovene word bezjak meaning silly. It was a nickname given to the Venetians of Friuli and the Slavs of Istria. Because it is an adjective, the ending changes …
As I sit here writing this word of the day, I am looking out over the sea (mare), soaking in the sound and smell of the waves crashing against the shore. The Italian word for this phenomenon is onda (feminine, plural: onde), which derives from the Latin unda. Below are a few useful verbs that …
In Italian, ciambella (feminine, plural: ciambelle) refers to any kind of round ring-shaped cake, pastry or cookie. From the American-style donut, also known as a ciambellina (lit: little ring), to the classic Italian ciambellone cake, pretty much any dessert with a hole in the middle falls into this category! In its very basic form, the …
What better way to bid farewell to what has been a rather trying 2020 than by talking about the word for end in Italian, which is fine (feminine, plural: fini). Both this word and the English word finish can be traced back to the Latin finis of the same meaning. As in English, fine can …
The Italian word for diamond is diamante (masculine, plural: diamanti). Both the Italian and English words can be traced back to the Latin diamas, which in turn comes from the Greek adamans meaning ‘untameable‘ or ‘invincible‘. Natural diamonds (diamanti naturali) are extracted from the depths of the Earth whereas synthetic diamonds (diamanti sintetici) are produced …