Some of you might think this is an unusual choice for the word of the day, but based on recent conversations in our Facebook group, it’s also one of your favourites! Scolapasta, which is made up of two words – the verb scolare (to drain or to strain) and the noun pasta – literally means …
Wherever there are fields with growing crops and birds in the vicinity, you will typically come across a scarecrow, known as spaventapasseri in Italian. They’ve long been used to dissuade these cunning winged gluttons from destroying the harvest. spaventapasseri scarecrow Spaventapasseri is made up of two parts: the verb spaventare (to scare) and passeri, the …
Cetriolo is the standard Italian word for cucumber. Is is derived from the Vulgar Latin citriòlum, and in turn from citrium, which comes from citrus (meaning “citron”). cetriolo cucumber Being a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Ricordati di prendere un po’ di cetrioli quando vai al supermercato. Remember to buy …
Each hour (ora) of the day consists of sixty minutes, which in Italian are known as minuti (singular: minuto). It comes from the late Latin minutum, which means particle, and is the neuter noun form of the adjective minutus. minuto minute Because minuto is a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: …
The masculine noun stento in Italian is used to describe a situation of severe suffering or privation, much like the word hardship in English. stento hardship It derives from the verb stentare which translates as to struggle, to find difficult or to scrape by. Because stento begins with the letters st-, it takes the following …
Today we’re going to be looking at the Italian word secco, whose principal translation is dry in English. It comes from the Latin siccus of the same meaning. Because secco is an adjective, the ending changes in accordance with the gender and/or plurality of the subject: Broadly speaking, secco can refer to anything that lacks …