The Italian word mistero is a noun that means mystery or something that is not easily understood or explained. We know with certainty that it derives from the Latin mysterium, which – surprise, surprise – also means mystery, and the Greek musterion. In ancient Rome, mysterium (which is a contraction of ministerium ‘ministry’) was used, …
Ivy, which is known as edera in Italian, is an evergreen climbing plant (pianta rampicante) that thrives on walls, rocks and trees. The name comes from the Latin hedera. Edera is a feminine noun starting with a vowel, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Edera velenosa is what Italians call poison ivy. …
December, or dicembre in Italian, is the month in which winter (inverno) officially begins in the northern hemisphere. The days may be short and the weather variable, but it is certainly the most magical time to visit Italy thanks to the festive atmosphere. Some things that characterise Italy in December include elaborate nativity scenes (presepi) …
The Italian word for door is porta. It comes from the Latin porta of the same meaning. If you have trouble remembering this word, try and associate it with the English word portal! Porta is a feminine noun whose ending changes from -a to -e in the plural. It takes the following definite and indefinite …
Formicolio is the word in Italian for both swarm and pins and needles. Being a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Before we attempt to explain the two very different meanings associated with this word, it is important to touch briefly upon its etymology. Formicolio can be traced back to the …
When I was young, one of my favourite pastimes was flipping through my father’s vast collection of postage stamps, among which was the prized Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp. The word for postage stamp in Italian is francobollo. Being a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles. The etymology of …