Only a couple of days ago, we published an article about the word for lightning (fulmine) so it would be remiss of us if we didn’t talk about its partner in crime tuono (masculine, plural: tuoni) which is the word for thunder in Italian. Tuono derives from the verb tuonare (or the old literary variation …
In English, we have two separate terms to describe a cloth bag stuffed with soft material used as a comfortable support. The kind we use to support the head while sleeping or lying down is called a pillow whereas the kind placed on chairs and sofas is called a cushion. In Italian, both are referred …
The words machine in English and macchina (feminine, plural: macchine) in Italian both derive from the Latin “machina”, which in turn comes from the Greek “mekhos” meaning contrivance. Both refer to a mechanical apparatus with several parts, which together perform a particular task. Hanno costruito una macchina complicata con semplici materiali domestici. They built a …
The male counterpart to a gallina (chicken / hen) in Italian is a gallo (masculine, plural: galli). It comes from the Latin word gallus. Some of the most distinctive characteristics of the rooster are its red crest (cresta), dangling wattle (bargigli), puffed-up tail (coda) and most importantly, its crow (canto) which is represented by the …
The words tantrum and whim both translate as capriccio in Italian. Derived from the antiquated form caporiccio, meaning fright or sudden start, it shares the same origin as the English word caprice. Capriccio is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: In the former sense of the word, it is often …
Lightning, known as fulmine (masculine, plural: fulmini) in Italian, is a key element of a thunderstorm, along with thunder (tuono) and heavy rain (pioggia). Another word that translates as lightning is lampo. Whereas fulmine refers to the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud (or in …