L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano I n Italian, sbadiglio (sbah-dee-lleeoh) is t h e e v e r y d a y w o r d f o r a y a w n : t h a t involuntary breath w h e r e t h e m o u t h o p e n s wide, the chest expands, and (often) the eyes squeeze shut for a second. It's the noun you use in the most normal situations – sleepiness, bore- dom, hunger, a stuffy room. How many times have you f e l t l i k e s b a d i g l i a r e ( " t o yawn") while listening to a v e r y b o r i n g m a t h l e s s o n w h e n y o u w e r e s t i l l i n school? Indeed, from a linguistic point of view, sbadiglio is built on the verb sbadigliare ("to yawn"), and older Italian a l s o r e c o r d e d t h e v a r i a n t sbaviglio. The verb's deep- er roots are usually traced to M e d i e v a l L a t i n b a t a r e , glossed by Treccani as "to stay with one's mouth wide open," and connected to the semantic family of badare (in older senses linked to " g a p i n g / o p e n i n g t h e mouth"). As for when Ital- ians started using sbadiglio in the historical record, the De Mauro dictionary dates it to the second half of the 14th century, which places 2 world 5 (you/tu) fly 6 (I) give 7 friends 13 to listen 14 line 18 you 19 hand 20 beginnings Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 you (plural) 2 (feminine of) my, belonging to me 3 (plural of) in the; moles 4 (you/tu) hate 8 soft; springs (mechanical) 9 hello; hi 10 never 11 echos 12 of the 14 he 15 us; we 16 (you/tu) love 17 (feminine of) a, an it firmly in late Medieval Italian. In real usage, sbadiglio is practical and flexible. You c a n d o o n e ( f a r e u n o sbadiglio), suppress one (trattenere uno sbadiglio), or describe it by length (uno sbadiglio lungo). It's also common to connect it to a c a u s e : u n o s b a d i g l i o d i sonno (sleepy yawn), di noia ( b o r e d o m ) , p e r l a f a m e ( h u n g e r ) . T h a t ' s w h y t h e word fits so well in spoken Italian: it names an action, but it also explains what's going on with the person doing it, for instance: non è noia: è che oggi sbadiglio dalla stanchezza ("It's not b o r e d o m , I ' m y a w n i n g b e c a u s e I ' m t i r e d " ) . B u t also: Che sbadiglio! Ho dor- mito pochissimo ("What a yawn! I slept hardly at all last night!"). And don't forget that, as everywhere in the world, in Italy, too, you must metterti la mano davanti alla bocca, quando fai uno sbadiglio! ("put a hand on your mouth when you yawn!"). M i è s c a p p a t o u n o sbadiglio mentre parlavi. A yawn slipped out while you were talking LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Sbadiglio: behind it, there is more than sleepiness! © Otherlet | Dreamstime.com 1 to look 2 one 3 to hold 4 school 5 friend 6 Tuesday 7 woman 8 heart 9 to talk 10 book 11 head 12 boy 13 mother 14 father 15 three 16 river 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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