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girandola

pinwheel

noun jee-RAHN-doh-lah Rare
Arts & Culture Festivals

Also means

Catherine wheel

Usage Note

Girandola refers to a spinning toy (pinwheel or whirligig), a type of revolving firework (Catherine wheel), or figuratively a whirl of activity or ideas. The phrase una girandola di pensieri (a whirl of thoughts) is common in literary Italian. The diminutive girandolina is used for children's pinwheels.

Examples

"I bambini correvano con le girandole colorate."

Natural Translation

The children ran with coloured pinwheels.

Literal Translation

The children ran with the pinwheels coloured.

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