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mordere

to bite

verb MOR-deh-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin mordere (to bite).

Usage Note

Mordere is an irregular verb; its past participle is morso (not morsuto). It takes avere as its auxiliary. The noun il morso (bite, bit) comes from the same root. The idiom mordere il freno (to bite the bit) means to chafe at restrictions — a useful figurative extension.

Examples

"Il cane ha morso il postino."

Natural Translation

The dog bit the postman.

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