Do you know someone who is a voracious eater, gobbling up everything in sight? If so, you might have a mangione on your hands! Mangione is a playful Italian word that means “big eater” or “glutton“. It is the combination of the verb mangiare (to eat) and the suffix -one which is used to describe …
A word we use a lot around our house is borraccia, which has a number of translations including water bottle, canteen, flask and thermos. Why? Because my three year old has the terrible habit of constantly misplacing his! Borraccia is a feminine noun that comes from the Spanish borracha, meaning “leather jug”. It takes the …
A camicia (shirt or button down shirt) is an item of clothing made of different fabrics like cotton, linen, silk, or flannel, that can have long or short sleeves. Camicia comes from the Latin term camisia, whose origins are uncertain. Unlike a maglietta (T-shirt) or a maglia (a shirt made with heavier cloth), a camicia …
Sopracciglio is a masculine noun that means eyebrow. Modelled on the Latin supercilium, it is the combination of ciglio (eyelash) and sopra (meaning ‘above‘). Before we begin, it’s important to clarify that this word has two possible plurals: the feminine plural le sopracciglia, which indicates a single pair of eyebrows, and the masculine plural i …
Today’s word miscela means mixture or blend, or more specifically, a mix of two or more different substances whose particles are blended without undergoing any chemical reactions. This noun originates from the Latin adjective miscellus, meaning “mixed,” which is derived from the verb miscere, indicating the act of mixing. Because miscela is a feminine noun, …
Some Italian words encompass multiple meanings, extending far beyond their original definitions, and our word of the day piumino is no exception! Piumino is a derivative of piuma meaning feather. It is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Originally, piumino designated the down of birds, which is the layer of …