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

She whet his palate with detailed reports dissecting the southern Italian dialect spoken by his grandmother.

From The Wall Street Journal

Coventry said she hoped all nations would be treated with respect by spectators, including the USA team amid criticism from Italian authorities about the presence of ICE agents in Milan.

From BBC

The pounding music and disco lights lent a sense of occasion to the first action of this year's Games in the high-end Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

From BBC

An artist who restored a fresco in a church in central Rome with a likeness of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has wiped out his own artwork after it sparked outrage.

From Barron's

The prosecutors argued that the Albanian authorities lacked the facilities to analyse the waste, so samples were eventually sent to an Italian lab.

From Barron's