A lampione is a large glass-covered lamp supported by a column or a support fixed to the wall, used for lighting streets, squares, gardens, and the like. It derives from the word lampa, meaning ‘lightning’ or ‘flash’.
Being a masculine noun, it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
il lampione
the lamp post
un lampione
a lamp post
i lampioni
the lamp posts
dei lampioni
(some) lamp posts
If you want to specify that you are talking about a street lamp, as opposed to another kind of large outdoor lamp, you can use the terms lampione della strada or lampione stradale.
Era talmente ubriaco che si mise a parlare con un lampione stradale!
He was so drunk that he started talking to a street lamp!
The diminutive lampioncino can denote any small garden lamp, but it may also refer to Chinese and Japanese paper lanterns, containing a light or a candle, used for parties and processions.
Finally, there is the expression magro come un lampione, which literally translates to “as thin as a lamp post”. It refers to a person of slim stature.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
