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pittoresco

picturesque, scenic

adjective peet-toh-RES-koh Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Appearance

Origin: Italian pittore (painter) + -esco

Usage Note

Pittoresco literally means 'painter-like' — the kind of scene a painter would want to capture. It describes landscapes, villages, or scenes that are charming and visually striking: un borgo pittoresco ('a picturesque village'). It is a near-cognate of English 'picturesque', which was actually borrowed from Italian via French. The feminine form is pittoresca.

Examples

"Abbiamo visitato un paesino molto pittoresco in Toscana."

Natural Translation

We visited a very picturesque little town in Tuscany.

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