cannone

cannon

noun kahn-NOH-neh Rare

Origin: From Italian canna (tube, barrel) + augmentative -one; the 'large tube' sense gave rise to the weapon name.

Also means

expert (colloquial)

Usage Note

Cannone is literally a cannon or heavy gun, but colloquially essere un cannone means 'to be a genius or expert at something' (è un cannone in matematica = he's a whiz at maths). The plural is cannoni, and the augmentative comes from canna (tube, barrel).

Examples

"Il museo espone un cannone del Settecento."

Natural Translation

The museum displays an 18th-century cannon.

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