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

It’s one of the many issues he addresses in “Conversations on Faith,” written by Mr. Scorsese and Antonio Spadaro, an Italian Jesuit, theologian and essayist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

"The golden days of Italian football are well and truly gone."

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

That means an entire generation of Italian middle-schoolers has now grown up without seeing their country participate in the World Cup.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Gomorrah author and anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano also weighed in, pointing to deeper structural failures in Italian football, from governance to youth development.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

The selection I’m doing for Pianopalooza is by an Italian composer named Muzio Clementi.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper