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bambino

American  
[bam-bee-noh, bahm-, bahm-bee-naw] / bæmˈbi noʊ, bɑm-, bɑmˈbi nɔ /

noun

  • bambinos,
    plural
  • bambini
    plural
  1. a small child or baby.

  2. an image of the infant Jesus.


bambino British  
/ bæmˈbiːnəʊ /

noun

  1. informal a young child, esp an Italian one

  2. a representation of the infant Jesus

"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

Usage

What does bambino mean? Bambino is the Italian word for a "male child or baby." It can also be used as a nickname or term of endearment for a man more generally.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of bambino

1755–65; < Italian, equivalent to bamb ( o ) childish (perhaps originally nursery word) + -ino diminutive suffix


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

She claims she even uses words and mannerisms such as "mamma mia", "bambino" and "si" in conversation without realising it.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024

Michelangelo: I’m lookin’ at your paintings and I gotta say I see no Real diff’rence from the scribbles of a one-armed bambino.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2020

First, Andrea Pirlo doing the Panenka penalty on the gurning, arms-flapping, Grobbelaar-impersonating Joe Hart, a moment of beauty that was missing only the words: "Ciao, bambino".

From The Guardian ● Jun. 7, 2014

As a "beardless bambino" of 20, with only a season's conducting of a road-show opera company behind him, he was hired to play a concert in Turin, and demanded two rehearsals.

From Time Magazine Archive

Maria came forward, carrying her babe in her arms—Ludovico's "piccolo bambino!"

From Mortmain by Arthur Cheny Train

Fran Cornetta shared on Facebook that pastina was the "transition from liquids to solids" for her and all the bambini in her family.

From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2023

The bambini – three boys aged seven, six and four – looked either adorable or a bit of a handful, depending on how much you knew about kids.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 18, 2014

Pinocchio was originally published serially in the weekly Giornale dei bambini, the “newspaper for kids,” where it gained a large following.

From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2011

But when 1,500 carabinieri and policemen staged surprise raids on 286 orphanages and other children's homes throughout Rome two weeks ago, they found plenty of evidence that some bambini are not exactly coddled.

From Time Magazine Archive

And so off they go, the young men and women and the young families and the little bambini, leaving the old peoples behind to bend for themselves.

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

Where bambinos, billy goats and boogeymen curse entire teams.

From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024

Why do so many bambino-loving Italians find that they cannot afford to have more bambinos?

From Time Magazine Archive

Two of the toughest bambinos in Italy came in: >The biggest political job was given to a man with no political but plenty of military fame, a 37-year-old child of iron named Ettore Muti.

From Time Magazine Archive

Baritone Danise was living in Manhattan with the present Signora Danise and their two bambinos.

From Time Magazine Archive

These bambinos hooked against the wall look down upon curious scenes.

From As Seen By Me by Lilian Bell

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