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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Meriggiare’

It’s about time to bring this word out of the shadows.

Published: 17 April 2024 09:14 CEST

Italian word of the day: ‘Meriggiare’

Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Have you ever rested outdoors in a shady place in the hot hours of midday? Perhaps you had a book with you or fell asleep on a hammock. Italian has a verb for this: meriggiare.

Now admittedly, meriggiare (pronunciation available here) is a word that’s rarely used in the modern Italian language, but it does still exist.

To add to its allure, it cannot be translated into English. It’s very specific to a midday nap in the heat. Perhaps the nearest English word would be ‘nooning’, yet that is somewhat archaic.

According to Italian dictionary Trecanni meriggiare also means to rest at home around noon, particularly after eating. It’s not just for the outdoors, and it’s similar to having a siesta.

The verb, which has the same conjugations as any other Italian verb, was first said to be introduced in Eugenio Montale’s poem Ossi di seppia (cuttlefish bones) where he wrote the following:

Meriggiare pallido e assorto…

Non rifugiarti nel’ombra…

This can translate to:

Resting pale and absorbed…

Don’t take refuge in the shadows…

But enough of the poetry. Can you use this rare verb in everyday language?

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Io meriggio sulla mia amaca quando la temperatura è troppo calda.

I rest on my hammock when the sun is too hot.

Meriggiavano sotto gli alberi.

They rested under the trees.

Lei meriggia dopo pranzo.

She rests after lunch.

So next time you’re in need of a rest in the shade after a heavy Italian lunch, you’ll have the perfect word to describe it.

See our complete Word of the Day archive here. Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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Italian word of the day: Metà vs mezzo

It’s often the case in Italy that you’ll find several words that mean something very similar, and it’s not always easy to know which one is appropriate. Our new mini series looks at some of the most common word pairs, and sorts out which should be used and when.

Why do I need to know the difference between metà and mezzo?

Because you’ll need to use both of them in daily conversation if you live in Italy, but the difference in meaning isn’t always clear.

What’s the difference?

When you want to talk about ‘half’ of something in Italian, it may seem as though you have two choices.

Depending on what you’re talking about, you could reach for either metà or mezzo (or mezza, which we’ll come to later) but many language learners say they’re not always sure which one to use in certain situations.

Put simply, the difference between metà and mezzo is much the same as the difference between ‘half’ and ‘middle’ in English.

Metà: a half, as in one of two equal parts of something.

Mezzo: the middle, as in equally distant from two points.

For example:

Ha mangiato metà torta

He ate half of the cake

Facciamo a metà

Let’s split it (in half)

E’ sdraiato in mezzo alla strada

He’s lying in the middle of the street

Non penso che ti dovrebbe mettere in mezzo

I don’t think she should be putting you in the middle of this

READ ALSO: Come stai vs come va

But is anything in Italian ever really that simple?

There are some specific situations where the two words seem to be used interchangeably, or where it’s not clear why one is typically used and not the other.

Confusion arises particularly around telling the time in Italian, as you could say:

Sono le undici e mezzo

It’s half past eleven

Il mio treno arriva alle 5.40: vediamoci dieci minuti prima, alla mezza.

My train arrives at 5.40: let’s meet ten minutes before, at half past.

Why in this case aren’t we using metà for ‘half’? And why is it sometimes mezza rather than mezzo?

The English ‘half past’ doesn’t translate literally into Italian. Mezzo is used here instead, since we’re talking about the ‘middle of’ the hour, the point equally distant between two hours.

This might take some getting used to for English native speakers, but it is pretty logical.

As for why it’s mezza in the second example, this isn’t because it needs to agree with the gender of the noun in the sentence.

In fact, dictionaries tell us it’s always more correct to use mezzo regardless (although many Italians themselves find this rule confusing.)

But, in this case, as the language guardians at Italy’s Accademia della Crusca explain, mezza may (if you prefer) be used instead of mezzo when we already know the time, or at least the hour, being talked about.

So if you had earlier told someone an event would start at 8pm, but it’s now been delayed by half an hour, you could then say:

Comincerà alle otto e mezza

But if you’re inviting someone for the first time, you’d probably stick to:

Alle otto e mezzo

This can be a lot to remember when you’re in the middle of a conversation, but with practice you’ll soon get a feel for which word sounds right in which context.

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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