Il tempo di un Caffe' - Thoughts on Italian Words

About Il tempo di un Caffe' - Thoughts on Italian Words

A fast paced 3 minutes morning chat to deepen your knowledge of Italian and satisfy your Italian curiosity. All levels can enjoy it! Find me at italianwithilaria.com and on Instagram at @iltempodiuncaffe_podcast

Publisher

Ilaria Cerini

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Nov 2022

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Episode 34: ORO

   From Latin aurum, through the later form orum. Its ancient roots are associated with burning, glowing and shining, and have also been connected to the light of dawn.That brings us to aurora, meaning dawn. And yes, think about the aurora borealis!Gold’s chemical symbol, Au, still carries the root of its Latin name, aurum.Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca.Literally, “the morning has gold in its mouth.” The idea is that people who get up early are more active and productive.English: “The early bird catches the worm.”Valere oro.We say this about someone extremely valuable or reliable, or about particularly useful advice or information.“Quell’uomo vale oro!”“That man is worth his weight in gold!”Essere un ragazzo d’oro / una ragazza d’oro.Someone with an exceptionally good, kind or generous character.“Sei una ragazza d’oro.”Avere un cuore d’oro.“To have a heart of gold.” Exactly the same in English!Per tutto l’oro del mondo.“For all the gold in the world.” It means you would never do something, no matter what you were offered.English: “Not for all the money in the world.”“Entrare in una vasca di ragni? Ma neanche per tutto l’oro del mondo!”L’oro apre tutte le porte.“Gold opens every door.” Money, wealth and sometimes bribery can get you access or opportunities.English: “Money talks.”Oro nero.“Black gold”: oil, because of its enormous economic value.Regola d’oro.The “golden rule”: a fundamental or particularly important rule to follow.Prendere per oro colato.Literally, “to take something as pure gold.” It means accepting something as absolutely true without questioning it.English: “To take something as gospel.”The expression comes from the idea of purified gold, refined and separated from its impurities.Sogni d’oro.Literally, “golden dreams”: “Sweet dreams.”Ironically, we can also say sogni d’oro to someone who seems distracted, half asleep or slow to realize what’s going on.Finally, d’oro is often used for someone or something exceptionally valuable or gifted:mani d’oro — “golden hands,” for someone extremely skilled with their hands.cuore d’oro — “a heart of gold.”ugola d’oro — literally “golden throat,” for someone with an extraordinary singing voice.Talking of which, Italians used to call the legendary Mina an ugola d’oro: one of the greatest Italian singers of all time, the Tigre di Cremona, the Tiger of Cremona.

2. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Episode 33: MAMMA & PAPÀ

   Still in our family cycle, today we have two words: MAMMA and PAPÀ or BABBO, which formally we call MADRE and PADRE, mother and father.Together, we call them I GENITORI, the parents. From Latin genitor, from the verb gignere, meaning “to generate”, “to give life”, or “to produce”.The word mamma, a root shared across many languages, comes from one of the first sounds an infant makes. It also comes from Latin mamma, meaning “breast”.From mamma, we get the word MAMMONE. A very useful word. It describes a man, often an adult, who is very attached to his mother… let’s put it that way.“Ha 30 anni e vive ancora con i suoi… che mammone!” “He’s 30 and still lives with his parents… what a mama’s boy.”Then we have a Neapolitan proverb: “Ogni scarrafone è bello ’a mamma soja.” “Every cockroach is beautiful to its mother.”Meaning: a mother sees her child as beautiful, no matter what.Another expression: “Come mamma t’ha fatto.” Literally, “as your mom made you”, in other words: naked.Second word of the day: PAPÀ. Like mamma, it comes from early infant sounds. The word spread through French papa and gradually replaced the more traditional Italian BABBO in many regions.Watch out: don’t confuse PAPÀ with PAPA, which means the Pope, as in Pope.And finally, one of my favorite expressions: “A babbo morto.”Literally, “when the father is dead.” We use it to mean paying a debt very late, or maybe never. Basically… when the inheritance finally comes in.I’m going to leave you with 2 classic Italian songs with the word MAMMA.First one is "Mamma" (also known as "Mamma son tanto felice”), a classic Italian popular song composed in 1940 and famously associated with legendary tenors like Luciano Pavarotti, who recorded a widely celebrated orchestral version arranged by Henry Mancini. I’ll try to have it play at the very end right here :)Second one is ‘Fatti mandare dalla mamma”, where a very young Gianni Morandi is asking his loved one to find an excuse to get out of the house, such as ‘have your mom send you out to buy milk’, so we can meet.

3. 

   18 Sept 2026

   Episode 32: ZIO & ZIA

   The word zio comes from the ancient Greek theios, meaning "uncle." It is related to the word theós, meaning "god," probably reflecting the respect traditionally shown to uncles.Over time, this Greek word spread through Italian and gradually replaced the Latin avunculus, which originally referred to the mother's brother.And while I was doing my research, I discovered something really interesting: the English word uncle actually comes from the Latin avunculus!Avunculus is the diminutive of avus, meaning "grandfather." So it literally means "little grandfather."Besides its literal meaning, zio and zia are also used in Italian slang to refer to a friend, much like saying "bro" in English.So if you bump into a friend on the street, you might hear:"Bella, zì!"It's basically the equivalent of saying, "What's up, bro?"This informal greeting originated in the suburbs of Milan before spreading to the rest of Italy.But we also have a couple of fun expressions.Fare lo zio d'America literally means "to play the American uncle."It describes someone who shows up with expensive gifts or flashes their wealth, inspired by the almost mythical figure of the relative who emigrated to America, made a fortune, and came back home rich.Then there's zio acquisito, literally "acquired uncle."We use it for someone who isn't your blood relative, like your aunt's husband, but more broadly it can refer to someone who has become such a close part of the family that everyone simply considers them an uncle.

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