The word for a pedantic person who raises questions and objections, and causes difficulties or problems over things of little importance is piantagrane in Italian. Some possible translations in English include troublemaker, fault-finder and nitpicker. Piantagrane is the combination of the verb piantare (to plant) and the noun grana, which in addition to meaning ‘grain‘ …
The last time I received a multa was when I was driving home, going perhaps five kilometres over the speed limit. The police car was hidden from view by a bend in the road, so he could easily catch anyone in too much of a hurry to reach their final destination. That €60 punishment was …
I’ve been stung by many api (bees) and vespe (wasps) in my lifetime, but I thank my lucky stars that I’ve never been on the receiving end of a calabrone sting! The word calabrone comes from the Latin crabronem of the same meaning. calabrone hornet Calabrone is a masculine noun. The plural is calabroni. un …
The Italian word for lemon is limone, which comes from the Arabic līmūn, the collective term for fruits of this kind. Limone is a masculine noun, and its plural form is limoni. il limonethe lemon un limonea lemon i limonithe lemons dei limoni(some) lemons Interestingly, limone is also the name given to the lemon tree, …
Pendolare is an interesting Italian word in that it can be classified as a noun, verb or adjective. Let’s begin by looking at its usage as a verb, as doing so will help us understand the meaning behind the noun and adjective. pendolare commuter Pendolare is a regular -are verb that means to oscillate, to …
Christmastime is upon us yet again, and if you are studying Italian, you may well be wondering what Christmas is called in Italy! Natale/na·tà·le/(masculine noun) Christmas Unlike the English word Christmas, there is no explicit mention of Christ, but instead a direct reference to his birth (nascita). Indeed, the etymology of the term Natale can …