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bambino

[bam-bee-noh, bahm-; Italian bahm-bee-naw]
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noun, plural bam·bi·nos, Italian, bam·bi·ni [bahm-bee-nee] /bɑmˈbi ni/.
  1. a small child or baby.
  2. an image of the infant Jesus.
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Origin of bambino

1755–65; < Italian, equivalent to bamb(o) childish (perhaps orig. nursery word) + -ino diminutive suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bambini

Historical Examples

  • Cincelle da Bambini in nella stietta parlatura rustica d' i' Montale Pistolese.

    Italian Popular Tales

    Thomas Frederick Crane

  • Drive this, with all the speed you may, to the Isle of Bambini, and carry off the six children of Petaldo that are still there.

  • Father Bambini was one of those old-fashioned masters, who treat their art with love and veneration.

  • Delsarte received no very regular musical education from Father Bambini.

  • Father Bambini had taken him to a party where he was to sing on very advantageous terms.

British Dictionary definitions for bambini

bambino

noun plural -nos or -ni (-niː)
  1. informal a young child, esp an Italian one
  2. a representation of the infant Jesus
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Word Origin

C18: from Italian
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bambini

bambino

n.

"little child," 1761, from Italian bambino, "baby," a diminutive of bambo "simple" (cf. Latin bambalio "dolt," Greek bambainein "to stammer"). In U.S. baseball lore, a nickname of George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (1895-1948).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper