Italian

American  

[ih-tal-yuhn] / ɪˈtæl yən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Italy, its people, or their language.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Italy, or a person of Italian descent.

2. a Romance language, the language of Italy, official also in Switzerland. It, It., Ital.

Italian British  

/ ɪˈtæljən /

noun

1. the official language of Italy and one of the official languages of Switzerland: the native language of approximately 60 million people. It belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European family, and there is a considerable diversity of dialects

2. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Italy, or a descendant of one

3. See Italian vermouth

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adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Italy, its inhabitants, or their language

Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Italian with an initial sound (pronounced like the word eye ) and often with level stress on the first and second syllables: is heard primarily from uneducated speakers. This pronunciation is sometimes facetious or disparaging in purpose and is usually considered offensive.

Other Word Forms

• Italianesque adjective
• anti-Italian adjective
• half-Italian adjective
• non-Italian adjective
• pro-Italian adjective
• pseudo-Italian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Italian

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word Italiānus. See Italy, -an

Compare meaning

How does italian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Italian vs. English sonnet

Example Sentences

That might sound like one of your fancy Italian foods, but you’ll have to turn it around in your head to figure it out.

From Literature

Stop by Fresco Italian Cafe and grab an Italian ice to enjoy while on the canal.

From Salon

"I wrote this for you," he said in Italian, before launching into a moving instrumental ballad that he had written especially for the occasion.

From BBC

Kinross tells me that my gut biome is roughly equivalent to an Italian man five years older than me.

From BBC

According to the listing, the 22-foot-wide property marries “traditional English charm, modern Brooklyn sensibilities and rich Italian influence.”

From MarketWatch