Italian Word of the Day: Onda (wave)

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 …

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Italian Word of the Day: Ciambella (donut / ring-shaped cake)

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 …

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Italian Word of the Day: Fine (end)

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 …

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Italian Word of the Day: Diamante (diamond)

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 …

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Italian Word of the Day: Margherita (daisy)

The word for daisy in Italian is margherita (feminine, plural: margherite). It derives from the Greek margaritis but entered the language via the Latin margarita. Although many flowers (fiori) belong to the margherita family, the two that are considered the archetypal species of that name are the margherita diploide (oxeye daisy) and margheritina comune (common …

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Italian Word of the Day: Indietreggiare (to move backwards)

The Italian verb indietreggiare is formed from the adverb indietro meaning behind, back or backwards. indietreggiare to move backwards You can use it to express a number of concepts that translate as to move backwards in English including: 1. to fall back / to retreat Indietreggiare, in the most literal sense of the word, refers …

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