Italian

American  

[ih-tal-yuhn] / ɪˈtæl jən /

adjective

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

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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

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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

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

See Examples For:

Italian Italians

When his dad asked about tenants—”How are the Di Palos doing?,” he’d say of a famous Italian grocer—Steven knew the answer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

The festival has programmed a documentary made entirely with AI -- "Be Brave" from Italian director Francesco Carrozzini, which centres on the founder of jeans brand Diesel, Renzo Rosso.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

And the Italian, who leads Hamilton and Russell in the championship by 59 points, was the quickest on the race-simulation runs towards the end of the session.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Lewis Hamilton says an upgraded Ferrari engine for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix is a "step forward but not the whole amount we need".

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

They gave Frank a strange look, muttered something in Italian, and kept going.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

During the Renaissance, Italians refined fencing into its modern form, and soon fencing schools began popping up all over Europe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

While some Italians say the current heat is "not a new phenomenon" given climate change, others from southern Italy have voiced their shock when visiting northern cities and towns.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Seven Italians, two Germans and two Spaniards were killed, along with two crew members, a spokesman for the transport ministry said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Giorgia Meloni described the narrow defeat in the chamber of deputies as a "missed opportunity for Italians"

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The second half of the nineteenth century was, for music, all about destiny too, though since music was dominated by Germans, Italians, Frenchmen and Russians, tragedy triumphed, and it all ended in death.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall