The Italian word pozzanghera describes a muddy or dirty puddle or pool of water on the ground.
pozzanghera
/poz·zàn·ghe·ra/ -[potˈtsangera]
It is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
- la pozzanghera = the puddle
- le pozzanghere = the puddles
- una pozzanghera = a puddle
- delle pozzanghere = (some) puddles
It is derived from the noun pozza (puddle / pool), with a double diminutive suffix, and can be traced back to the late medieval Latin puzacara. Whereas pozza can refer generically to any pool of liquid (including water, milk, juice and so on), pozzanghera is specifically used for puddles formed by rainwater.
C’è una grossa pozzanghera sulla strada.
There is a big puddle on the street.
While pozzanghera already suggests that the water is dirty, you can explicitly specify by adding the descriptor di fango (of mud) afterward.
A mio figlio piace saltare su e giù nelle pozzanghere di fango.
My son likes jumping up and down in muddy puddles.
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.
