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pelle

skin

noun PEHL-leh Less Common

Origin: from Latin 'pellis', hide

Also means

leather

Usage Note

Pelle is feminine and means both 'skin' and 'leather', so una borsa di pelle is a leather bag. It anchors vivid idioms like avere la pelle d'oca ('to have goosebumps') and non stare nella pelle ('to be bursting with excitement'). Its plural pelli is rarely needed.

Examples

"Ha la pelle molto chiara."

Natural Translation

She has very fair skin.

Literal Translation

Has the skin very light.

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