palla

ball

noun PAL-lah Rare

Origin: From Latin pila (ball).

Usage Note

Palla is the everyday word for a ball of any kind — palla da tennis, palla da calcio. Note that a football itself is more often called pallone (big ball) in Italian, while palla is used in most other sports. Colloquially, che palle! is a coarse but common expression of boredom or frustration.

Examples

"Il bambino tira la palla contro il muro."

Natural Translation

The child throws the ball against the wall.

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