The Italian word for tickle is solletico (masculine, plural: solletichi). It normally appears in the expressions fare il solletico (to tickle, or literally, “to do the tickle”) and soffrire il solletico (to be ticklish, or literally, “to suffer from the tickle”). A synonym for fare il solletico is the verb solleticare. If you are going …
A calzone is a speciality pizza, originating from Naples and Puglia, that is folded in half before being baked in the oven or fried. Each region in Italy has its own distinct variation, but popular fillings include mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta, pecorino, ham, salami, vegetables and tomato sauce. Origin of the word: The word calzone was …
The Italian word for weather is tempo (masculine, plural: tempi). It comes from the Latin tempus meaning time – and yes, before you say anything, we are fully aware that tempo is also the word for time in Italian. However, we won’t be covering this definition here, as it deserves a blog post all of …
One of the most common adjectives in Italian for someone who is sick or ill is malato. The feminine form is malata and their respective plurals are malati and malate. Just like its English equivalent, it can describe ailing plants and animals too. If you are only suffering from a minor sickness, you can say …
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 …