L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano T h e I t a l i a n w o r d sfrenato (sfrai- nah-toh) is full of m e a n i n g a n d e x p r e s s i v i t y . I t c o m e s f r o m t h e v e r b s f r e n a r e , w h i c h l i t e r a l l y means "to unbridle" or "to remove restraints." The root word freno means "bridle" or "restraint," and ultimately c o m e s f r o m t h e L a t i n frenum, which referred to the bridle used to control horses. The prefix s- (from Latin ex-) indicates removal, so sfrena- t o o r i g i n a l l y d e s c r i b e d a horse that had lost its bridle, a pretty vivid image of some- thing wild, uncontrollable, and no longer under com- mand. In modern Italian, sfrena- t o t o o k o n a b r o a d e r metaphorical meaning: it describes anything intense, excessive, unrestrained, or passionate and it's commonly used to describe behaviors, feelings, desires, or even par- t i e s a n d r h y t h m s . F o r instance, we say: Aveva una p a s s i o n e s f r e n a t a p e r l a m u s i c a j a z z ( " H e h a d a n unrestrained passion for jazz music"), or Dopo l'esame, ci siamo dati a un divertimento sfrenato, which means "After the exam, we indulged in wild fun." The word is often associat- ed with intensity and lack of control, but it isn't always negative, it all depends on 1 aunts 6 (I) touch 7 king 9 elsewhere 10 oats 11 (I) smell 12 (we) live 15 a, an 16 (I) bite 17 in the Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 uncles 2 age 3 stairs; ladder 4 (I) smile 5 to find 8 (they) start 9 (we) go 11 shadow 13 not; no, not any 14 from the context: a desiderio sfrenato (an "uncontrollable desire") could be either romantic or obsessive, but a successo sfrenato (a"runaway suc- cess") is purely positive. In literature and journal- ism, sfrenato can add color and full-on drama, as in Un'ambizione sfrenata lo spinse a tradire i suoi com- pagni ("An unbridled ambi- tion pushed him to betray his companions"). And who has- n't been to a party where someone Balla con un'ener- gia sfrenata che contagia tutti ("They dance with an unrestrained energy that's contagious.") Remember that the adverb form of the adjective sfrena- to, sfrenatamente, is also quite common, and it's nor- mally used to describe the m a n n e r o f a n a c t i o n : f o r instance, we say Rideva sfre- n a t a m e n t e , o r " H e w a s laughing uncontrollably." Thanks to its colorfully strong imagery and flexibili- ty, sfrenato remains a popu- lar word in modern Italian, u s e f u l i n e v e r y t h i n g a n d every context, from casual speech to poetic expression. Era un tifoso sfrenato del Napoli. He was a die-hard Napoli supporter. Abbiamo fatto una corsa sfrenata sotto la pioggia. We had a wild run in the rain. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Sfrenato: the word that has no restraints Photo: Monkey Business Images Ltd/Dreamstime 1 man 2 two 3 head 4 to drink 5 home 6 woman 7 shirt 8 face 9 father 10 boy 11 river 12 door 13 heart 14 school 15 Tuesday 16 mother 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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