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fazzoletto

handkerchief

noun faht-tsoh-LET-toh Rare
Home & Lifestyle Clothing

Origin: Diminutive of 'fazzolo', from Latin 'faciolum', from 'facies' (face).

Also means

napkin, small cloth

Usage Note

Fazzoletto is the standard word for a handkerchief, either cloth or paper (fazzoletto di carta, a tissue). The diminutive suffix -etto makes it technically a small cloth, but fazzoletto is the normal, non-diminutive term in practice. In the folk game il fazzoletto (Italian 'Drop the Handkerchief'), children chase each other in a circle — a cultural reference familiar to most Italians. Plural: i fazzoletti.

Examples

"Ha tirato fuori un fazzoletto per asciugarsi le lacrime."

Natural Translation

He took out a handkerchief to dry his tears.

Literal Translation

He-has pulled out a handkerchief to dry-himself the tears.

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