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tennis

tennis

noun TEN-nees Rare

Origin: Possibly from Old French 'tenez' (take!, hold!), called out when serving.

Usage Note

Tennis is an invariable masculine noun borrowed from English — its plural is identical: i tennis (though the sport is almost always used in the singular). In Italian, il tennis takes the masculine article. Related words include campo da tennis (tennis court), racchetta (f, racket), and tennista (m/f, tennis player). The invariable plural means you say due campi da tennis, not a changed noun.

Examples

"Gioca a tennis ogni domenica mattina."

Natural Translation

He plays tennis every Sunday morning.

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