The Italian word serpente (snake) should be very easy to remember for English speakers, as it sounds and looks just like the synonym serpent. Serpente is a masculine noun whose plural form is serpenti. It takes the following definite and indefinite articles: il serpentethe snakeun serpentea snake i serpentithe snakesdei serpenti(some) snakes Here are a …
The word for an ornament that one fastens to clothing, either for decorative purposes or as a clasp, is spilla in Italian. It translates as either brooch or pin in English. Being a feminine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: la spillathe broochuna spillaa brooch le spillethe broochesdelle spille(some) brooches Some different …
Lumaca is the name in Italian for all terrestrial (and sometimes marine) pulmonate gastropods that are either devoid of a shell, or carry a shell that isn’t visible to the naked eye. The English word for these creatures is slug. It is a feminine noun whose plural form is lumache, and takes the following definite …
The word capatina in Italian means a quick or flying visit. It is the diminutive form of capata (capata + -ina), which means exactly the same thing but, for some reason, isn’t used with the same frequency as capatina. capatina Because it is a feminine noun, capatina takes the following definite and indefinite articles: la …
The Italian term sasso is fairly comprehensive in that it can be used to denote anything rock-like, from the smallest pebbles and stones to rocks, boulders, and even larger masses. In fact, it can even refer to rock faces and mountains, especially in toponyms such as Gran Sasso d’Italia, a massif in the Apennine Mountains …
Bancomat is the commercial name of the electronic system that allows bank customers to make withdrawals and purchases, and perform other accounting operations from ATMs. However, in everyday speech, you will commonly hear it used to denote both: It is the compilation of the words banco (in the sense of banca ‘bank’) and mat, an …