italiota

ignorant Italian; provincial boor

noun ee-tah-LYOH-tah Rare

Origin: Ancient Greek Italiotēs (Greek colonist of southern Italy)

Usage Note

Italiota has a remarkable historical reversal: in antiquity it meant a Greek settler in Magna Graecia (southern Italy); today it is a pejorative for an ignorant, parochial Italian. The word is used sarcastically in political commentary. Despite ending in -a, it is grammatically common gender — l'italiota can be male or female, with masculine plural gli italioti.

Examples

"Non comportarti da italiota!"

Natural Translation

Don't behave like an ignorant boor!

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