Snello is an adjective in Italian that means slender or slim. It usually refers to a person’s body or certain parts of the body.
Interestingly, according to Treccani, it derives, not from Latin, but from the Germanic “snell” meaning nimble or quick. (“Schnell” means “fast” in German.) Indeed, this is how the word was originally used in literary Italian. Other dictionaries also mention the French “snël” as a possible origin.
Because snello is an adjective, the ending of the word changes in accordance with the gender and/or plurality of the subject. For example:
- fisico snello = slender physique (masculine, singular)
- gamba snella = slender leg (feminine, singular)
- fisici snelli = slender physiques (masculine, plural)
- gambe snelle = slender legs (feminine, plural)
A synonym for snello you might already know is magro. Whereas magro is almost always used in a neutral or negative sense to mean (too) thin, snello is a complimentary term. If you call a person snello/snella, you are implying that they have a slender build and a healthy, attractive physical appearance.
Dopo aver seguito una dieta ferrea, Luigi è di nuovo snello.
After following a strict diet, Luigi is once again slim.
Finally, snello is used to describe things that are simple, functional, unembellished or unhindered by pointless obstacles. A few common examples include:
- stile snello = simple style
- processo snello = simplified process
- traffico snello = free-moving traffic
- prosa snella = plain prose
- architettura snella = plain architecture
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.
