Word of the day: Capodanno - new year, new beginnings

Dec 31, 2020 624

After this necessary preamble, let us look at this week’s word, the Italian for New Year, more closely. For those familiar with the language, its etymology is clear: Capodanno comes from capo d’anno, the literal “head of the (new) year.” To be more precise, and as you would expect from an Italian word, it derives from the Latin caput anni, which means the same thing.

Of course, Capodanno refers to the first day of the new year, the 1st of January, but in Italian it is also used to indicate the celebration of the Eve (the 31st of December). Capodanno appears in many typical expressions and locutions of our beloved language: for instance, we have cenone di Capodanno, the traditional food feast Italians enjoy while waiting for midnight on the 31st.

Read more

SOURCE: https://italoamericano.org

You may be interested