Questions tagged [italian]
For questions relating to the Italian language.
28
questions
33
votes
11answers
6k views
Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom “non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!”?
In Italy we say "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!" (= don't compare gold to tin!) when someone compares a (concrete or abstract) high-value thing to a low-value one.
For example:
Joe: "LaTeX è ...
21
votes
5answers
5k views
How did “lobster” mean two different species?
This live crustacean is called astice in Italian. The one on the right is aragosta.
They look very different from one another. The Italian dictionary describes the astice as having a deep (intense) ...
14
votes
5answers
5k views
In English you have 'above', 'on', 'over' and 'on top of' but in Italian one word, 'sopra', covers all four meanings
In Italian if I were to say, "sopra l'albero" (albero = tree) you might rightly ask: "Yes but where, exactly?"
But "sopra" is a great word to learn in Italian, not only is it a very flexible ...
11
votes
1answer
1k views
Why and how did “a sensible boy” become “intelligent and prudent”?
Italians often get confused by sensible and sensitive. If I tell them
He's a sensible boy; he studies hard, saves his money, and plans ahead.
They are quite bewildered. To them, sensible is ...
9
votes
1answer
224 views
The “prickmouse” and the “butcher's broom”
I sometime go for walks in the wood near where I live, and in the undergrowth, beneath the oaks and pines, you'll find an evergreen prickly shrub which is called pungitopo in Italian. The word is ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Etymology of “bizarre”?
bizarre n. "very strange or unusual"
I know that it (likely) comes from Basque. Does anyone have a certain knowledge of this? I heard that it comes from Italian from some sources, too.
7
votes
2answers
7k views
According to me, it was acceptable, but according to him, it wasn't
I once had a piece of written work corrected by a very experienced English teacher who told me that writing "according to me" sounded weird and nobody who was English/British would ever say it. I didn'...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Can a car be “naked”?
It's a rare event when I can't find the English equivalent for an Italian expression. It's even rarer when that Italian term consists of one word, but in English I have to build an entire phrase.
...
6
votes
1answer
5k views
Why do The Sopranos leave off the last vowel in Italian words?
For example, they pronounce "ricotta" as "rih-gaht", "manicotti" as "mani-gaht", and "prosciutto" as "pro-shoot".
I googled this, and according to this post from Chow.com, this is a common thing ...
6
votes
7answers
4k views
How to say succinctly: “An opinion which is ‘shareable’ and agreed upon by many”?
How would you express the notion: ‘overall many would share that opinion’, more succinctly? For example:
It is generally agreed upon that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day".
...
6
votes
1answer
14k views
Why is a calzone called calzone?
I was just researching its etymology and turns out that it comes from calceus the Latin for shoe! How did Latin for shoe end up as the Italian (and subsequently, English) for a snack? They seem so ...
6
votes
1answer
701 views
“farne di tutti i colori” in English
Does anyone know the English translation for "farne di tutti i colori"? It's an Italian expression meaning "do all sorts of things" The literal translation would be: to do something in every colour. ...
5
votes
2answers
42k views
One word for “a one-eyed person”
I've given an English children's story to a small group of Italian kids to read and perform. The story is about a boy who changes into a cat and makes friends with a one-eyed next-door neighbour; a ...
5
votes
4answers
9k views
If I can “fall in” love, can I “fall in” depression?
In Italian we say essere innamorato (to be in love) whereas the English idiom, to fall in love, expresses the idea of abandonment, of letting oneself go.
mi sono innamorato = I am in love, and ...
5
votes
1answer
240 views
What does “We use the formal lei” mean?
There was the following passage in an article written by Jhumpa Lahiliri, 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner that came under the title, “Teach yourself Italian” in The New Yorker (December 7, 2015):
“I’m ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there any connection between “machination” and Machiavelli?
Is there any connection between the term machination and the writer Niccolò Machiavelli or is it just a coincidence that they are so similar?
It seems logical because aside from having similar ...
5
votes
1answer
738 views
Possible Italian origin for English expressions “easy peasy” and/or “easy breezy”?
I was watching Rachael Ray and she was making risotto with peas which she said is the first solid food for many Italian children. She was also trying to dispel the notion that risotto is hard or ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the word for the gesture when someone takes three fingers and kisses it into the air?
You often see this with Italians, especially when complimenting some food they just ate, but it has evolved into a more universal gesture.
Take the thumb, index, and middle finger, gather them ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Are there any “fake” Italian words used in English?
Now that we've furnished so many interesting words and ideas in response to @Adrian's request regarding pseudo-Gallicisms, why not do pseudo-Italian pseudo-loanwords in English? To paraphrase Adrian:
...
3
votes
2answers
408 views
What rules govern uniform mispronounciation of romance languages? [closed]
As someone who isn’t a native speaker of English, I’m often fascinated by how those who are seem to change the pronunciation of words originally from French, Italian, Spanish, and so on in a seemingly ...
3
votes
4answers
683 views
What's the noun for “off-key” or “out of tune”?
The answer isn't off-keyness, although I wish it were.
I am interested in the secondary meaning of something being off-key, in the sense that it is irregular or incongruous, for example: "An off-key ...
3
votes
1answer
169 views
What made “gusto” popular?
Gusto is a foreign term which the English language appears to have borrowed twice:
1620s, "very common from the beginning of the 19th c." [OED], from Italian gusto "taste," from Latin gustus "a ...
2
votes
3answers
517 views
If I measure myself am I only measuring my size?
In Italy when people say they measure themselves, they are not only measuring their height, or their waistlines. Instead they are measuring how well they do something in a challenging or difficult ...
0
votes
1answer
289 views
Is this grammatically correct? “Us with You” [closed]
Is this slogan correct?:
"Us with You"
"With You To Win Every Challenge"
It's from an Italian website translated to English.
Sounds a little strange to me.
-1
votes
1answer
517 views
A word for source of energy, enthusiasm, etc [closed]
I need an single awesome word for following features -
For these features -
the group of person or objects filled with lots of energy
source of unstoppable energy
the one who start with great effort ...
-1
votes
1answer
137 views
How do I translate this italian locution? [closed]
Often in Italian we use this locution:
venire meno
Now I wanted to translate it and I didn't come with an 'immediate' translation.
Somebody knows the English equivalent?
-1
votes
1answer
693 views
What are typical italian mistakes when it comes to sentence construction? [closed]
Sometimes people say to me that my English is kinda like "translated Italian".
They don't know how to put that themselves, anyway sometimes my sentences are not constructed in a "typical English way". ...
-2
votes
1answer
1k views
What does “incognita” mean? [closed]
American Heritage Dictionary reads:
incognita
adv & adj, with one’s identity disguised or concealed. Used of a woman;
n, A woman or girl whose identity is disguised or concealed.
...
