The Italian word for hail, as in pellets of frozen rain, is grandine (feminine, plural: grandini). It derives from the Latin word of the same spelling. One way of translating the verb to hail is to use the verb cadere (to fall), as in cade la grandine (the hail falls), but it is just as …
The Italian word for flame is fiamma (feminine, plural: fiamme). Both the Italian and English words can be traced back to the Latin flamma of the same meaning. /fiàm·ma/ Some of the most common types of flames and the objects that produce them include: La fiamma della candela oscillava nel vento. The flame of the …
The word for today in Italian is oggi. It derives from the Latin hŏdie which itself is a contraction of hoc die (on this day). Ieri mi hai detto che l’incontro si sarebbe tenuto oggi, ma in realtà ho scoperto che si svolge domani! Yesterday you told me the meeting would be held today but …
Most people – with perhaps the exception of my minimalistic father who only ever travels with a teeny tiny bag – pack their belongings inside a valigia (feminine, plural: valige or valigie) when they go on holiday. The word derives from the Latin valisia, which possibly came from the Gaulish *valisia meaning leather bag. Some verbs …
A blanket term for any decorative or artistic object kept on a shelf or piece of furniture, regardless of its value, is soprammobile (masculine, plural: soprammobili) in Italian. Some possible translations in English are knick-knack, shelf ornament or decorative piece. It is a combination of two words: sopra meaning on top of or above and …
January, or gennaio in Italian, is the month that marks the beginning of the new year. Despite the days being short and the weather cold, it is a wonderful time to visit Northern Italy if you enjoy skiing and hiking in the mountains. Gennaio is the first month (primo mese) of the year according to …