compaesano

fellow villager

noun kom-pah-eh-ZAH-noh Rare

Also means

person from the same town

Usage Note

Compaesano refers to someone from the same village or small town as oneself; it carries a warmth implying shared roots and local identity. The feminine form is compaesana; plural compaesani/compaesane. In the context of Italian emigration it became an important term of solidarity — fellow emigrants from the same hometown were called compaesani.

Examples

"Ho incontrato un vecchio compaesano per strada."

Natural Translation

I met an old fellow villager in the street.

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