One of my son’s favourite pastimes, like many kids his age, is jumping in muddy puddles (pozzanghere). Unfortunately, he’ll sometimes run into a puddle even without his boots (stivali) on! stivale boot According to Treccani, the origin of stivale dates back to Old French estival, but beyond that, its etymology is uncertain. However, Devoto-Oli suggests …
Along with health, happiness, and other essentials, we seek physical and mental well-being to feel fulfilled in our lives. benessere well-being The Italian word for well-being is benessere, which is the mirror image of the English term – bene means well, and essere means being (as a noun) or to be (as a verb). Another …
If there’s one thing most of us likely don’t get enough of, especially those with young children, it’s sleep. The noun translates as sonno in Italian. sonno sleep / sleepiness The word comes from Latin somnus, which derives from Proto-Italic *swepnos and Proto-Indo-European *swépnos, rooted in *swep- meaning “to sleep.” It is a masculine noun …
You might already know the very common word capriccio, but did you know there’s another Italian word for a tantrum or scene? That word is bizza! bizza tantrum / scene Bizza is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: While capriccio is more generic, bizza tends to indicate a brief and …
Occhiata, which is the combination of the word occhio (eye) with the noun-forming suffix -ata, may not be the most profound word in Italian but it is used very frequently in everyday conversation. occhiata glance / quick look It translates to glance, glimpse, quick look or peek depending on the context, and as you’ve probably …
The monkey, known as scimmia in Italian, is one of the closest relatives to gli essere umani (human beings). In fact, we share over 90% of our DNA with our primate cousins! scimmia monkey The word is derived from the Latin simia, which in turn comes from simus, derived from the Greek simós meaning ‘”snub-nosed.” …