Italian Word of the Day: Osso (bone)

The Italian word for bone is osso (masculine). It derives from the Latin os. Like many parts of the body, this word has two plural forms: ossa (feminine) and ossi (masculine). The masculine plural, formed from the singular osso, refers to individual bones considered separately, or to the bones of an animal. The feminine plural …

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Italian Word of the Day: Sangue (blood)

The word for blood in Italian is sangue (masculine). If you have trouble remembering this term, I find it helps to think of the English word sanguine, which shares the same Latin origin (sanguis). Below are a few verbs that are often used with sangue: When describing something related to blood, the adjective sanguigno is …

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Italian Word of the Day: Settembre (September)

September, or settembre in Italian, is easily my favourite month of the year. The days are warm without being oppressively so, the nights are cool, there is still enough daylight to enjoy outdoor activities in the late afternoon, and you can smell the arrival of autumn in the air. Settembre is the ninth month (nono …

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Italian Word of the Day: Gomito (elbow)

The word for elbow in Italian is gomito (masculine). It derives from the Latin term cubitus. Like many other parts of the body, gomito has a masculine and feminine plural form despite being a masculine noun. The masculine plural i gomiti is widely accepted as the standard form whereas the feminine plural le gomita is …

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Italian Word of the Day: Barca (boat)

The Italian word for boat, which is barca (feminine, plural: barche), derives from the Latin term of the same spelling. There are many different types of boats in existence, the most common of which include: A small boat is known as a barchetta or barchina/o (the diminutive forms) whereas a large boat is called a …

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Italian Word of the Day: Basilico (basil)

A plant whose sweet-smelling leaves are often used as a herb in Italian cooking is basilico (masculine, plural basilichi), which is the word for basil. In the Tuscan dialect, it is pronounced with a double s (bassilico). basilico It must not be confused with the similar sounding basilica, which is the name given to certain …

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