Italian–English dictionary

l'origliare

Listening secretly to the private conversations of others.

la

The form of she used after a preposition, as the object of a verb, or (colloquial) as a subject with a conjunction; that woman, that ship, etc, or (dialect) as a subject without a conjunction.

la loro

Belonging to, from, of, or relating to, them (plural).

la maggioranza di

the majority of; more than half of (construed without the definite article)

La Mecca

A large city, the provincial capital of Mecca Province in the in the Hejaz region, Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam, location of the sacred Ka'ba, and to which Muslims are required to make a hajj at least once in their lifetime, if possible.

la metropolitana di Londra

The London underground railway system.

la morte

The cessation of life and all associated processes; the end of an organism's existence as an entity independent from its environment and its return to an inert, nonliving state.

la nostra

(colloquial, may seem patronising) That or those belonging to an individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given.

La palla avvelenata

A game for three or more players, involving the gradual elimination of players by throwing and catching a ball.

la quale

(relative, formal, _, outside certain phrases) Designates the one(s) previously mentioned.

la sua

Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).

la torre

The sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in many Tarot decks, usually deemed an ill omen.

la tua

(archaic, EME) Second-person singular possessive pronoun; yours.

la vostra

That or those belonging to you; the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.

labbro

(by extension, countable) The projecting rim of an open container or a bell, etc.; a short open spout.

labiale

(linguistics, phonetics) A consonant articulated by the lips.

labile

(chemistry, of a compound or bond) Kinetically unstable; rapidly cleaved (and possibly reformed).

labirintico

(figuratively) Complex, complicated, or intricate.

labirinto

A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through.

laboratorio

A room, especially one which is not particularly large, used for manufacturing or other light industrial work.

laborioso

Requiring dexterity to operate.

lacca

An opaque, glassy coating baked onto metal or ceramic objects.

laccare

To apply a lacquer to something or to give something a smooth, glossy finish.

lacchè

A footman, a liveried male servant.

lacci

(mostly, in the plural) One of the short straps tied between the legs of unfenced horses, allowing them to wander short distances but preventing them from running off.

lacciaia

A long rope with a sliding loop on one end, generally used in ranching to catch cattle and horses.

laccio

A string or cord, encased in a fabric tube, with one or more small openings into the tube, on a bag or garment, allowing the item to be closed (as with a bag) or tightened (as with sweatpants or a bathing suit).

laccio emostatico

(medicine) A tightly-compressed bandage used to stop bleeding by stopping the flow of blood through a large artery in a limb.

lacerazione

An irregular open wound caused by a blunt impact to soft tissue.

Laconia

A city, the county seat of Belknap County, New Hampshire; named for the Laconia Car Company, a railroad car manufacturer.

laconico

Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.

lacrima

A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.

lacrimare

To cry; to shed tears, especially when accompanied with sobbing or other difficulty speaking, as an expression of emotion such as sadness or joy.

lacrimoso

Tearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.

lacrosse

(sports) A sport played on a field between two opposing teams using sticks (crosses) and a ball, whereby one team defeats the other by scoring more goals within the allotted time.

lacuna

A gap in a series, making it incomplete.

lacuna elettronica

(physics) In semiconductors, a lack of an electron in an occupied band behaving like a positively charged particle.

laddove

In, at or to the place (that) or a place (that).

ladra

One who carries out a theft.

ladresco

That thieves; that steals; inclined to steal

ladro

A person who steals, lies, cheats or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal.

ladrone

(historical) A person, usually mounted on horseback, who robbed travelers on public roads.

ladruncolo

(British, dated) A child who lives, or spends most of their time, in the streets; sometimes a petty thief or pickpocket.

lady

A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.

laggiù

In that place; there (at some distance).

laghetto

(US, chiefly, Montana) One of many small mountain lakes or ponds.

laghetto montano

(US, chiefly, Montana) One of many small mountain lakes or ponds.

lagna

A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.

lagnarsi

(intransitive) To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

lago

(now, chiefly, dialectal) A small stream of running water; a channel for water; a drain.

lago Vittoria

The largest lake in Africa, with shoreline in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; one of the African Great Lakes.

Lagos

The largest city and former capital of Nigeria, in Lagos State.

laguna

A shallow body of water separated from deeper sea by a bar.

laica

Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.

laicità

Neutrality towards all religions.

laico

Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.

laido

Obscene or offensive.

lama

The (typically sharp-edged) part of a knife, sword, razor, or other tool with which it cuts.

lamantino

Any of several plant-eating marine mammals, of the genus Trichechus, found in tropical regions.

lambda

The eleventh letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabet, the twelfth of the Old Greek alphabet.

lambdacismo

(phonology) A pronunciation shift whereby /l/ or other closely related phonemes are substituted for other sounds (typically /r/), as Sally for Sarah or Molly for Mary.

Lamberto

(countable) A en given name; in modern use partly transferred back from the surname.

lambicco

A device for distilling liquids.

lambire

(transitive) To rub or touch lightly the surface of (a thing) in passing.

lamé

(uncountable) A fabric made from gold or silver threads and silk, wool or cotton.

lamella

A very thin sheet of metal.

lamentabile

Causing sorrow, distress or regret; deplorable, pitiful or distressing.

lamentare

(transitive) To moan or complain about (something).

lamentarsi

(intransitive) To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

lamentazione

A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.

lamentela

(legal) In a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based.

lamento

An expression of grief, suffering, sadness or regret.

lamentoso

Filled with grief or sadness; being in a state in which one mourns.

lamia

(Greek mythology) A monster preying upon human beings, who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.

lamiera

(transitive) To cover, fill, or affect with lead.

lamina

Thin plate, foil.

laminare

To cover the surface material of an object with a thin coat of another material, usually a metal.

lampada

A device that generates heat, light or other radiation. Especially an electric light bulb.

lampada per saldare

A tool which projects a controlled stream of a highly flammable gas over a spark in order to produce a controlled flame.

lampadario

A branched, often ornate, light fixture suspended from a ceiling.

lampadina

A device that generates heat, light or other radiation. Especially an electric light bulb.

lampante

(idiomatic) Straightforward, obvious, simple, or basic.

lampeggiare

To shine, especially with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp.

lampione

The pole that holds up a light so it can illuminate a wide area, such as holds up a streetlight.

Lampo

The eighth and last reindeer of Santa Claus.

lampredotto

(archaic) The stomach, especially of an animal.

Lancaster

The House of Lancaster, a dynasty of English kings and one of the opposing factions involved in the 15th century Wars of the Roses. The name comes from the fact that its members were descended from John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster; their symbol was a red rose.

Lancastro

The House of Lancaster, a dynasty of English kings and one of the opposing factions involved in the 15th century Wars of the Roses. The name comes from the fact that its members were descended from John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster; their symbol was a red rose.

lancella

A kind of widemouthed pitcher or jug with a shape like a vase and a handle. Originally used for carrying water

lancia

The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.

lanciafiamme

A device that projects a flame for starting fires, and sometimes also additional fuel to help ignition. Used either as a weapon or a tool.

lanciare

To throw down or aside. [from 15th c.]

lanciare con il paracadute

To deliver goods, equipment, or personnel by dropping them from an aircraft in flight.

lanciatore

Someone or something that casts.

lanciatrice

Someone or something that casts.

lanciere

(military) A cavalry soldier armed with a lance weapon.

Lancillotto

(Arthurian legend) One of the Knights of the Round Table, a lover of Guinevere.

lancinante

Causing great pain or anguish, agonizing

lancio

The countdown and launch of a rocket, missile or spacecraft

lancio con il paracadute

The act of delivering goods, equipment, or personnel by dropping them from an aircraft in flight.

lancio moneta

A throw, a lob, of a ball etc., with an initial upward direction, particularly with a lack of care.

landa

The territory of a nation; a sovereign state or a region once independent and still distinct in institutions, language, etc. [from 14th c.]

landò

A type of lightweight, four-wheeled carriage in which the front and back passenger seats face each other.

languido

Showing no interest, vigor, determination, or enthusiasm.

languire

(intransitive) To lose strength and become weak; to be in a state of weakness or sickness. [from 14th c.]

languore

(uncountable) A state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid or weary feeling; lassitude; (countable) an instance of this.

lanoso

Made of wool.

lantanio

(uncountable) A chemical element (symbol La) with an atomic number of 57: a soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes slowly when exposed to air.

lanugine

Anything light, soft or fuzzy, especially fur, hair, feathers.

lanuginoso

Having down, covered with a soft fuzzy coating as of small feathers or hair.

Laos

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Capital: Vientiane.

laotiano

Synonym of Lao (“the official language of Laos”).

lapazio

Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash.

lapazza

(carpentry, construction) A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in construction to hold members of a structure together, to provide a fixing point, to strengthen, or to prevent warping.

lapidare

(transitive, legal) To throw stones or other objects at, as punishment, sometimes until death.

lapidari

(except, historical) A treatise on (precious) stones.

lapidario

Somebody who cuts, carves or dresses stone.

lapidazione

(legal) The practice or act of stoning, sometimes to the point of death, as punishment

lapide

A grave marker, a stone slab or similar object marking a person's grave.

lapin

(uncountable) The fur of a rabbit typically used to imitate another animal's fur.

lapis

A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper. [from 16th c.]

Lapo

A en given name.

lappa

Any of the species of biennial thistles in the genus Arctium.

lappare

To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.

lappone

A member of an indigenous Finno-Ugric people of Lapland.

laptop

(computing) Ellipsis of notebook computer (“laptop computer”).

Lara

A en given name.

lardo

Cured meat from the sides, belly, or back of a pig.

largamente

In a widespread or large manner.

larghezza di banda

(of a signal) The width of the smallest frequency band within which the signal can fit.

largo

(rare, obsolete, outside, dialects) A clear path through a crowd or a passageway with people.

laringale

(Indo-European, _, linguistics) In Proto-Indo-European, one of the typically three reconstructed consonants usually marked as ⟨h₁⟩, ⟨h₂⟩ and ⟨h₃⟩.

laringe

(anatomy, zootomy) A hollow muscular organ of the neck of mammals situated just below where the tract of the pharynx splits into the trachea and the oesophagus. It is involved in breath control and protection of the trachea, and, as it houses the vocal cords, sound production.

laringico

(anatomy, relational) Of or pertaining to the larynx.

laringite

An inflammation of the larynx, typically resulting in hoarseness.

larva

(countable) An insect at an immature stage of its life cycle.

lasciar passare

To pretend not to have noticed (something, especially a mistake or flaw); to pass over (something) without censure or punishment.

lasciare

(transitive) To acknowledge, accept the truth of; to concede; to accede to an opinion.

lasciare andare

(transitive) To let go (free, away), physically release.

lasciare cadere

(intransitive) To give way on a point or in an argument.

lasciare in eredità

(legal) To give or leave by will; to give by testament.

lasciare la mancia

To give a small gratuity to, especially to an employee of someone who provides a service. [from early 18th c.]

lasciare perplesso

(transitive) To confuse or baffle (someone).

lascito

The transfer of property upon the owner's death according to the will of the deceased.

lascivo

Indulging in or characterised by sensual pleasures to a degree perceived to be morally harmful; corrupted; immoral; self-indulgent.

lasco

Loose; not tight or taut.

laser

A beam of light produced by such a device; a laser beam.

lassativo

Any substance, such as a food or in the form of a medicine which has a laxative effect.

lassista

Tending not to interfere with the decisions and actions of other people (employees, subjects, etc.).

lasso

Lenient and allowing for deviation; not strict.