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zanzara

mosquito

noun dzahn-DZAH-rah Less Common
Animals & Nature Insects

Origin: likely imitative of the insect's buzz

Usage Note

Zanzara is the mosquito, an unwelcome staple of Italian summer evenings; the plural is zanzare. You protect yourself with repellente per zanzare or a zanzariera ('mosquito net'); the word's buzzing zz-sound is itself onomatopoeic.

Examples

"Una zanzara mi ha punto."

Natural Translation

A mosquito bit me.

Literal Translation

A mosquito me has bitten.

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