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cattività

captivity

noun kaht-tee-vee-TAH Rare

Origin: From Latin captivitas, from captivus (captive).

Usage Note

Cattività refers to the state of being held captive, used for both animals in zoos (in cattività) and humans imprisoned or enslaved. The written accent signals final stress. Like all nouns ending in -tà, it is invariable in the plural: le cattività.

Examples

"Il leone è nato in cattività."

Natural Translation

The lion was born in captivity.

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