artificio

artifice, trick

noun ahr-tee-FEE-choh Rare

Origin: From Latin artificium, 'craft, skill', from artifex (artisan).

Also means

device, contrivance

Usage Note

Artificio (also artifizio) can mean a clever trick or stratagem (un artificio retorico, a rhetorical device) or, in the plural, fireworks (fuochi d'artificio). The fireworks meaning is by far the most common in everyday Italian; learners often encounter it first in that phrase.

Examples

"Abbiamo visto i fuochi d'artificio dalla terrazza."

Natural Translation

We watched the fireworks from the terrace.

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