Italian Word of the Day: Pianeta (planet)

The Italian word for planet is pianeta, which comes from the Greek planetes via the Latin planeta. Learn with our video It would be logical to assume that it is a feminine noun given that it ends in the letter ‘a‘, but it is actually masculine. This is likely because the archaic version of the …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Viola (purple / violet)

The colour purple is known as viola in Italian. It comes from the Latin word of the same spelling. When used as an adjective, it remains invariable, or in other words, it has the same form in both the singular and the plural. For example: When used as a noun, it is always masculine (il …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Grandine (hail)

The Italian word for hail, as in pellets of frozen rain, is grandine (feminine, plural: grandini). It derives from the Latin word of the same spelling. One way of translating the verb to hail is to use the verb cadere (to fall), as in cade la grandine (the hail falls), but it is just as …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Fiamma (flame)

The Italian word for flame is fiamma (feminine, plural: fiamme). Both the Italian and English words can be traced back to the Latin flamma of the same meaning. /fiàm·ma/ Some of the most common types of flames and the objects that produce them include: La fiamma della candela oscillava nel vento. The flame of the …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Vita (life)

The Italian word for life is vita (feminine, plural: vite). It shares the same root as the English words vital and vitamin, which is the Latin vita of the same spelling and meaning. In almost every sense of the word, it mirrors its English equivalent barring a few exceptions. For starters, it can refer, not …

Read more

Italian Word of the Day: Perla (pearl)

The Italian word for pearl is the similar sounding perla (feminine, plural: perle). It is thought that both derive from the Latin perna (leg), so called for the leg-of-mutton shape of the mollusk shells from which they originate. Pearls broadly fall into three categories: natural pearls (perle naturali / vere), cultured pearls (perle coltivate) and …

Read more