Word of the Day

Is there a word more famous than mascherina these days?  Mascherina (mah-skai-ree-nah) in Italian means face mask. In the Bel Paese, mascherine are ubiquitous and people got largely used to wearing them. Surgical blue or fantasy cotton, you see them …

If you translate literally non vedo l’ora (noh-n vai-doh l’oh-rah), it doesn’t make much sense. What could “not being able to see the time” possibly mean? Well, we don’t use it with that meaning, really.  Non vedo l’ora is the …

If there is one thing people have been showing these days, that’d be coraggio (coh-rah-djoh). Its meaning is simple, because the Italian sounds and looks a lot like the English courage, which is exactly what it means.  Coraggio comes from …

Pazzo (pah-tsoh) means crazy, and you’d be crazy to think it’s not a popular word.  It comes from the word pazzia, a noun as poetic as  it is unsettling — in all languages — associated as it is to mental …

I wonder how many people are familiar with the Italian word fervore ( fair-voh-reh), easily recognizable as the English “fervor.” Fervore comes from the Latin fervor-fervoris, which means heat. The old Latin verb from which is derived,  fervere, still exists …

I believe that when someone says you are a buona forchetta you should take it as a compliment. In the end, why wouldn’t you? To be  a buona forchetta (boo-oh-nah for-kai-tah) doesn’t simply mean to be a good  eater, it …

Allegria! (Ahl-lai-gree-ah) means fun, gaiety, cheerfulness. Italians are known to be gente allegra, cheerful people, and it shows especially in hard times such as these.  The history of the word is somehow uncommon — or at least it is, when  …

Speranza (spe-rahn-zah), what a beautiful word. It means  “hope” and  it comes from  the Latin  spes, a noun of the fifth declension, one that kids in school never managed to remember.  Before being “speranza,” it was speme in Italian and, …

Subito (soo-bee-toh) means “soon, “now,” or “immediately.” It is used in a variety of very common expressions so learning how to use it can be very handy! As always, it comes from the Latin subitus, an adjective similar to the …

Vittoria (Vit-toh-ree-ah) is one of those words you recognize in all languages. Victory in English, victoire in French, victoria in Spanish, never mind where you come from in the world, its sound and meaning is understood.  The first to use …