Italian

American  

[ih-tal-yuhn] / ɪˈtæl jən /

adjective

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

---

noun

Italians plural

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

---

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Italians
  plural

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 was already challenging when they landed in the Italian capital.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

“The goal isn’t to be like some Italian, Brazilian, or American cities where you have entire rows, entire walls of convectors outside buildings that make an unbearable racket, releasing heat and toxic fumes,” Pulvar said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Bending Spoons, an Italian company that bought AOL in January, is on tap to begin trading today under the ticker symbol BSP.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

A generation later, the family had a Supreme Court justice in Samuel A. Alito Jr. — the second Italian American, after Antonin Scalia, to sit on the highest court in the land.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

Retreating Italian troops were driven down from the mountains onto the plains as hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrendered or deserted, disappearing into the countryside.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman