A key piece of furniture that occupies the corner of most bedrooms is the guardaroba, the word for a wardrobe in Italian. Derived from the French noun garde-robe, it is the combination of the verb garder (meaning ‘to guard’ or ‘to look after’) and robe (meaning ‘gown’ or ‘suit’). The word final -a might lead …
The Italian word for a vineyard is vigneto. It derives from the Latin vinetum, which in turn comes from vinum, the Latin word for wine. Note: Vigneto is easily confused with the similar-sounding term vignetta, which is the word for a cartoon or comic strip, so pay attention to the pronunciation! Vigneto is a masculine …
The humble centrepiece of the Thanksgiving (Festa del Ringraziamento) dinner table: is the tacchino (turkey). Tacchino is a masculine noun ending in -o, making its plural form tacchini. Note that the feminine versions also exists for a female turkey: tacchina and tacchine. il tacchinoun tacchino la tacchinauna tacchina i tacchinidei tacchini le tacchinedelle tacchine The …
In Italy, you’ll often hear people use the single word torcicollo to describe a crick in one’s neck or a stiff neck caused by an injury. It is made up of two words: the verb torcere meaning to twist or to contort, and collo meaning neck. Torcicollo is a masculine noun. The plural is torcicolli. …
The word for belt, or any kind of material typically worn around the waist, is cintura in Italian. It comes from the Latin cinctura, which in turn is a derivative of the verb cingere (to wrap, tie, enclose). Cintura is a feminine noun, and its plural is cinture. la cinturauna cintura le cinturedelle cinture Six …
The word for any small bowl-shaped drinking container with a handle is tazza in Italian. Unlike most Italian words which derive from Latin, the origin of the word tazza can be traced back to the Arabic ṭasa. Two possible translations in English are cup and mug. Tazza is a feminine noun. The plural is tazze. …