diploma

diploma, certificate

noun dee-PLOH-mah Less Common

Origin: From Greek diploma (folded document).

Usage Note

Diploma is one of Italian's masculine nouns ending in -a (a Greek-origin pattern, like problema, tema, clima): il diploma, plural i diplomi. It refers to a secondary-school leaving certificate (diploma di maturità) or any professional qualification certificate. Do not confuse with la laurea, which is a university degree. The verb is diplomarsi (to graduate from secondary school).

Examples

"Ha ottenuto il diploma in luglio."

Natural Translation

He obtained his diploma in July.

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