Italian

[ ih-tal-yuhn ]

adjective

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

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

/ 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

adjective

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

Pronunciation Note

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

Other Words From

• I·talian·esque adjective
• anti-I·talian adjective noun
• half-I·talian adjective
• non-I·talian adjective noun
• pro-I·talian adjective noun
• pseudo-I·talian adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Italian¹

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

Example Sentences

The Italian foreign ministry has declined to comment on the video.

From The Daily Beast

The Italian navy tweeted regular updates of the saved-to-stranded passenger ratio.

From The Daily Beast

I learned that he was working and living in the Lower East Side, delivering orders for an Italian restaurant and raising two kids.

From The Daily Beast

The bookstore was opened as a way of presenting Italian books and culture to Manhattanites.

From The Daily Beast

Because the shop was emblematic of that peculiar Italian institution known as La Faccia: i.e. presenting the best face possible.

From The Daily Beast

The streets here are rather wide for an Italian city but would be deemed intolerably narrow in America.

From Project Gutenberg

All the Italian merchants in the realm of France, called money lenders, seized by order of Philip the fair, for their ransoms.

From Project Gutenberg

To talk German was beyond the sweep of my dizziest ambition, but an Italian runner or porter instantly presented himself.

From Project Gutenberg

And it is too true that ages of subjugation have demoralized, to a fearful extent, the Italian People.

From Project Gutenberg

The Cardinal then hinted, that Wharton had vanished on some occult mission, to circumvent the Italian investiture.

From Project Gutenberg