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English Words of Italian Origin

These words came to us from Italian. Based on the definition, guess the word.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: December 8, 2019
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First submittedMarch 14, 2013
Times taken36,281
Rating4.11
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Definition
Word
Hello or goodbye
Ciao
The type of cheese on pizza
Mozzarella
High-profile female singer
Diva
Where the fat ladies sing
Opera
Person who serves coffee drinks
Barista
Sauce made with basil and pine nuts
Pesto
Highest register of singing voice
Soprano
Sharp knife or high heel
Stiletto
Vandalism or art,
depending on your perspective
Graffiti
People who take unwelcome
photos of celebrities
Paparazzi
Definition
Word
Chain of islands
Archipelago
Opposite of piano, in terms of loudness
Forte
Orchestra conductor
Maestro
Type of nut with green flesh
Pistachio
Artificial cave, often with water features
Grotto
Totalitarian, right-wing political movement
Fascism
Type of green squash; Courgette
Zucchini
Like a flute, but smaller
Piccolo
"Pick me up" dessert made
with ladyfingers
Tiramisu
It's longer than a short story,
but shorter than a novel
Novella
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
We received about 50 annoying comments debating whether fascism is left-wing or right-wing. These comments have now been deleted.

My clue was not intended to be offensive to any current political ideology.

Hateful ideologues are found on both sides of the political spectrum. That said, fascism is generally understood to be of "right-wing" origin. Other, equally-destructive, ideologies such as Stalinism are usually considered "left-wing".

JetPunk is not a forum for political debate. Any further comments on this top risk deletion and banning. Thank you for your understanding.

Lukutiss1324
+1
Level 47
Apr 18, 2013
Missed pesto >.< 19/20
Glitschko56
+3
Level 59
Apr 18, 2013
Could prima donna not count for "high profile female singer"?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Apr 18, 2013
Sure, but it's two words, not one.
buck1017
+2
Level 72
Apr 22, 2013
I thought you wanted a PERSON...so i put Madonna
HectorVortac
+1
Level 50
Oct 29, 2017
I also tried prima donna repeatedly, didn't notice all the answers were single words. It doesn't help me that we have a 'Primmadonna Casino' down the road from here.
iuvas
+1
Level 85
Jun 30, 2018
actually, in Italian the word "primadonna" as a single expression can be found, even if not so often.
aliberti68
+1
Level 54
Apr 19, 2013
can't spell archipelago
mikedelis
+7
Level 68
Aug 21, 2013
Archipelago is a greek word, not italian.
trnka
+1
Level 65
Apr 30, 2014
But the word archipelago came to English from the Italian 'arcipelago' in 1500s. So it fits this quiz.
nojik
+1
Level 57
Jul 5, 2020
So what? Its a Greek word not It*lian.
giosp
+7
Level 66
Oct 23, 2013
archipelago is a greek word, archi (αρχι) = leading + pelago(s) (πελαγος) = sea
akwildrose
+1
Level 53
Apr 27, 2015
Ah, yes, you are right. I got it, but I knew there was something weird about it being attributed to Italian.
seveneleven
+3
Level 65
Nov 3, 2015
General note: if you put italian names, please use all italian names, not only some. (Fascism->Fascismo; Archipelago->Arcipelago) (Piccolo is used in Italian, but it's a very technical name. You should use also Ottavino, that is the name it's knowed in Italy).

Also:

-Pistacchio needs the double "c"

-Grotto doesn't exist. The term is Grotta

LisaChristine369
+16
Level 58
Nov 3, 2015
But this quiz about ENGLISH words of Italian origin....so it would not be appropriate to use the Italian version. Some words, like piccolo, just happen to be the same in both English and Italian.
iuvas
+1
Level 85
Jun 30, 2018
I agree that english spelling should be used, nevertheless I think seveneleven is right about his notation that the correspondence with actual spoken Italian is not so straightforward.
PersonWhoEnjoysStuffsandThings
+1
Level 55
Nov 3, 2015
Pistachio! Can't believe I didn't get that!
Elan
+1
Level 62
Nov 3, 2015
You should accept alternate spellings of archipelago. It's a difficult word to spell.
JohnMG123
+1
Level 43
Nov 3, 2015
A pretty nice quiz. A couple of comments - how about Fascist for Fascism? They can be used fairly interchangeably. Also, as others pointed out, archipelago is actually not Italian. I got it, but it doesn't quite belong. And believe it or not, Zucchini isn't Italian either - it is American, and actually fairly recent too, based on cross-breeding different strains of squash to get it. (Yeah, one of those trivia nerd things Jetpunk addicts know!) But again, thanks for posting the quiz!
Kestrana
+4
Level 63
Nov 5, 2015
Zucca is the Italian word for pumpkin/squash and zucchino/zucchina (zucca + ina = little) are diminutive forms, becoming zucchini/zucchine in the plural. Zucchino, the masculine form (zucchini in the plural), is the first form to be documented in writing. In Italy varieties of squash typically called "zucchini" were developed many generations after their introduction from the Americas. In all probability, this occurred in the very late 19th century, and the word came back to the US in the 1920s along with zucchinis themselves.

As for archipelago, it is an English word from the early 16th century, which was derived from Italian arcipelago, which was derived from Greek arkhi- ‘chief’ + pelagos ‘sea.’ Its usage in English came from Italian, not Greek roots. This is especially apparent because of the timing of the words adoption - during the Renaissance when Italian was at its widest usage as a lingua franca.

Seriously people - a 10 second Google search shows that Quizmaster is correct.

McLerristarr
+1
Level 63
Jun 15, 2016
"Fascist" and "Fascism" cannot be used interchangeably. Fascism is an ideology. Fascist is an adjective or a person who supports fascism.
KeiranO90
+2
Level 45
Nov 4, 2015
Zucchini is an American word of Italian origin. It isn't used in proper English
ander217
+2
Level 78
Jun 30, 2018
What rubbish.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 67
Jan 15, 2019
garbage?
AlexThirkell
+1
Level 62
May 1, 2020
An attempt at starting an argument... Was the whole fascism left or right brouhaha not enough for you?!
Olinguito
+1
Level 47
May 11, 2016
20/20 with 1:53 to go. I'm a maestro with Italian words.
martinz
+1
Level 51
Jul 3, 2016
Should accept pistaCChio and grottA
fitheach
+4
Level 58
Oct 30, 2017
Why accept words that don't exist in English? What even is a grotta? It certainly isn't what fits the definition given in the quiz.
LyRiKH
+1
Level 52
Nov 18, 2016
Good quiz 20/20 with 2.14 left. When I started I thought that I would be in trouble but obviously there are lots of Italian/Latin words in common usage. Wasn't sure about archipelago (thought it was Greek) but put it anyway. Note the comments about the correct Italian terms for the words
Ferrets10
+1
Level 44
Feb 9, 2017
Can you accept 'tiramasu' please?
HectorVortac
+1
Level 50
Oct 29, 2017
There is no such thing as 'tiramasu'. The correct answer is tiramisu.
DonTheLamplighter
+7
Level 79
Nov 24, 2017
Whoa, there. Might want to dismount from that high horse there, Sparky. "Tiramasu" is simply a misspelling. And an understandable one, at that. There are far more egregiously-misspelled words that are accepted on JetPunk. It sounds like a reasonable request to me.
DonTheLamplighter
+5
Level 79
Nov 24, 2017
If you handed your local baker a note with a list of goodies you wanted, and one of them was "tiramasu", do you really think he would have no idea what you're talking about?
MajorPlank
+1
Level 23
Jun 28, 2018
Awesome
luxint
+1
Level 60
Jun 30, 2018
Is there a glitch? I got 18 but it said I got 19!?
Lilylee
+1
Level 69
Jun 30, 2018
I don't think a grotto has to be exclusively artificial.
ander217
+1
Level 78
Jul 5, 2020
I thought the same thing and looked it up. According Wikipedia it can be natural or artificial.
roadrage
+1
Level 65
Oct 23, 2018
Can't you allow Groto for Grotto?
Sifhraven
+1
Level 67
Jan 15, 2019
Parmesan and gorgonzola both fit the cheese clue. I tried a long time figuring out how the english write parmesan (they pronounce it funny imo, but that's besides the point ;) )

When that didnt work i tried gorgonzola (before trying more parmesan and even feta)

also falsetto, couldnt that fit the clue singing voice clue aswell? a soprano singing in falsetto sings even higher.

AJsaba
+1
Level 49
Jan 12, 2020
Don't forget to add Virtuoso also
quizmono
+1
Level 42
Jul 5, 2020
What about 'latte'? The definition could be 'A type of coffee made with espresso and steamed milk.'
nojik
+1
Level 57
Jul 5, 2020
ARCHIPELAGO is a Greek word. I reported the quiz. Its a Greek word. Archi (START) PELAGOS(SEA)!
determinedtobeatthis
+1
Level 66
Jul 5, 2020
*vandalism or art depending on whether or not the "artist" has permission and/or owns surface on which they are painting. (Some graffiti is beautiful, but I personally could do without the kind people leave on bathroom walls...)
kaislash
+1
Level 34
Jul 6, 2020
"our butts touched the same seat, we are brothers"
kaislash
+1
Level 34
Jul 6, 2020
can you add archapeligo as an alternate?
NikolaSm
+2
Level 35
Jul 6, 2020
"Where the fat ladies sing"

Not only this is inacurate, this is utterly rude.

HectorVortac
+2
Level 50
Jul 8, 2020
What is wrong with just learning the right spelling of all these words? You didn't ace the quiz but you learned something.
tgene
+1
Level 61
Dec 13, 2020
"Where the fat ladies sing"

This is purely ignorant and extremely rude. There are million ways to guess "opera", you didn't have to go with such an irrelevant one

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