The Italian word for pearl is the similar sounding perla (feminine, plural: perle). It is thought that both derive from the Latin perna (leg), so called for the leg-of-mutton shape of the mollusk shells from which they originate. Pearls broadly fall into three categories: natural pearls (perle naturali / vere), cultured pearls (perle coltivate) and …
The word for any piece of cloth used for drying dishes or for household cleaning is strofinaccio (masculine, plural: strofinacci) in Italian. If we break it down into its component parts, we can see that it is composed of the verb strofinare (to rub) and the pejorative suffix -accio which denotes something bad or unattractive. …
Ritrovo (masculine, plural ritrovi) is the word for meeting place, haunt, or hangout in Italian. More specifically, it refers to a place where several people meet on a regular basis to chat amicably, or to entertain themselves with a common interest. It comes from the verbs ritrovare (to find again / to recover) and ritrovarsi …
The Italian word for success is the similar sounding successo (masculine, plural: successi). Both words can be traced back to the Latin word “successus” of the same meaning. The expression avere successo (lit: to have success) translates as to be a success or to be successful. Although avere is by far the most common, you …
As I sit here writing this word of the day, I am looking out over the sea (mare), soaking in the sound and smell of the waves crashing against the shore. The Italian word for this phenomenon is onda (feminine, plural: onde), which derives from the Latin unda. Below are a few useful verbs that …
In Italian, ciambella (feminine, plural: ciambelle) refers to any kind of round ring-shaped cake, pastry or cookie. From the American-style donut, also known as a ciambellina (lit: little ring), to the classic Italian ciambellone cake, pretty much any dessert with a hole in the middle falls into this category! In its very basic form, the …