The word for clover in Italian is trifoglio (masculine, plural: trifogli). It comes from the Latin trifolium which is the combination of the prefix tri- (meaning three) and folium (meaning leaf). If the word trifoglio sounds familiar, that’s because clover is also known by the alternative common name trefoil in English. An average of around …
Focaccia (feminine, plural: focacce) is a popular type of Italian flat bread composed of a mixture of flour, water, salt, yeast and olive oil, which can be cooked either in the oven or on the grill. Origin of the word: The Italian word focaccia derives from the late Latin focus which refers to cooking on …
The Italian word for patience is pazienza (feminine, plural: pazienze). You can trace the origin of the word back to the Latin patienta meaning suffering. Learn with our video Some common verbs you’ll see used with pazienza include: Sto per perdere la pazienza! I’m running out of patience! In Italy, you will often hear the …
Don’t let the appearance of today’s word fool you: fattoria (feminine, plural: fattorie) is the word for farm in Italian, not factory! (If you’re interested in learning about even more “false friends” in Italian and English, check out our dedicated article!) It derives from the word fattore, the name for a person who manages a …
Gnocchi is the plural of gnocco, an Italian variety of dumpling that has been around since Roman times. Although recipes vary from region to region, the three most basic ingredients are cooked mashed potato, flour (farina), and eggs (uova). Other common additions include semolina, cheese (formaggio), ricotta, spinach and polenta. Origin of the word: The …
What I consider a rather romantic-sounding term in Italian is barlume (masculine, plural: barlumi) which is the word for any kind of dim light, such as a glimmer, flicker or gleam. It derives from the word lume (one possible translation for light in Italian) and the prefix bar- which is akin to the pejorative prefix …