Italian
[ih-tal-yuh n]
- of or relating to Italy, its people, or their language.
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Origin of Italian
Pronunciation note
The pronunciation of Italian with an initial [ahy] /aɪ/ sound (pronounced like the word eye ) and often with level stress on the first and second syllables: [ahy-tal-yuh n] /ˈaɪˈtæl yən/ is heard primarily from uneducated speakers. This pronunciation is sometimes facetious or disparaging in purpose and is usually considered offensive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for italian
Contemporary Examples
The Italian foreign ministry has declined to comment on the video.
Jihadis Release New Year’s Eve Video of Italian Female HostagesJamie Dettmer, Barbie Latza Nadeau
January 2, 2015
The Italian navy tweeted regular updates of the saved-to-stranded passenger ratio.
I learned that he was working and living in the Lower East Side, delivering orders for an Italian restaurant and raising two kids.
The bookstore was opened as a way of presenting Italian books and culture to Manhattanites.
The Bookstore That Bewitched Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Greta GarboFelice Picano
December 16, 2014
Because the shop was emblematic of that peculiar Italian institution known as La Faccia: i.e. presenting the best face possible.
The Bookstore That Bewitched Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Greta GarboFelice Picano
December 16, 2014
Historical Examples
He was received with joy for the service he had rendered to the Italian people.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
Yet we have just seen that the Greeks of old were too self-contained for their Italian brethren.
The Dramatic Values in PlautusWilton Wallace Blancke
In any case, it was evident that Italian opera was a precarious enterprise.
HandelEdward J. Dent
Rico could soon speak Italian as if he had always spoken it.
Rico and WiseliJohanna Spyri
The Corsicans speak Italian, and this would never do for a French schoolboy.
The Boy Life of NapoleonEugenie Foa
Italian
- 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
- a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Italy, or a descendant of one
- See Italian vermouth
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- relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Italy, its inhabitants, or their language
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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 italian
Italian
n.
early 15c., "native of Italy," from Italian Italiano, from Italia "Italy" (see Italy). As an adjective from 1640s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper