L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T he Italian word g e l o ( d j e - l o h ) refers to intense cold, typically at o r b e l o w 0 ° C (32°F), which causes water to freeze into ice. It derives from the Latin word gelu, meaning "intense cold" or "ice." The word is used in vari- o u s c o n t e x t s t o d e s c r i b e harsh weather conditions, as in phrases like È arrivato il gelo ("The frost has arrived") or Ha fatto gelo stanotte ("It w a s f r e e z i n g l a s t n i g h t " ) . Mind, though: in meteorolo- g y , t h e r e i s a d i s t i n c t i o n between "days with frost," where the minimum temper- ature is at or below 0°C, but the maximum rises above 0°C, and "frost days," when temperatures remain below 0°C all day. Beyond its literal mean- ing, gelo also takes on figura- tive connotations in Italian. It can indicate a sudden chill caused by fear or astonish- ment, as in the expression Sentire un gelo nelle ossa ( " t o f e e l a c h i l l i n o n e ' s bones"). Metaphorically, it describes a cold or unfriend- ly atmosphere, for example: C'era gelo tra di loro ("There 1 (I) raise, lift up 3 man 7 honey 8 east 9 insects 13 (I) love; hook (for fishing) 14 woman 16 (he/she) hates 17 (I) turn (rotate) Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 weapon 2 aunts 4 west 5 eight 6 Friday 10 (you/tu) swim 11 given 12 hand 15 (plural of) in the; moles w a s a c o l d n e s s b e t w e e n them"). The first recorded use of gelo in the Italian language dates back to the late 13th or e a r l y 1 4 t h c e n t u r y , w i t h Dante Alighieri using the t e r m g i e l o i n C o n v i v i o ( 1 3 0 4 - 1 3 0 7 ) t o r e f e r t o intense cold. Indeed, in Ital- ian literature, gelo has been equally used to evoke images of severe cold or emotionally c o l d a t m o s p h e r e s ; f o r instance, the poet Giorgio Caproni writes: Il fiume giù a fondovalle, e il gelo che il suo alito aggiunge alla boscaglia ("The river down in the valley, and the frost its breath adds to the forest"), a great image to describe the freezing air of our woods. Il gelo notturno ha coper- to i campi di brina. The night frost has cov- ered the fields with frost. Tra di loro c'era un gelo che rendeva difficile la con- versazione. T h e r e w a s a c o l d n e s s b e t w e e n t h e m t h a t m a d e conversation difficult. Il lago è ricoperto di uno strato di gelo. The lake is covered with a layer of ice. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Gelo, if it's in the air, better stay inside! © Saletomic | Dreamstime.com 1 woman 2 school 3 hand 4 mother 5 to eat 6 shirt 7 two 8 river 9 door 10 home 11 head 12 to hold 13 man 14 heart A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex

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