L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano S ome Italian words are useful because t h e y h a v e m o r e than one function i n e v e r y d a y s p e e c h , a n d p i u t t o s t o (peeuht-toh-stoh) is one of them. Depending on context, it can mean rather, instead, quite, or rather, and in some parts of contemporary spo- ken Italian, even or. It is a flexible word, com- mon in conversation, writing, journalism, and to express polite disagreement. The term comes from older Italian forms linked to the expression più tosto, literal- ly meaning "more quickly" or "more readily." In medieval and early modern Italian, "tosto" often meant quick, soon, ready, or prompt. Over time, "più tosto" evolved phonetically and semantically into the single word piut- tosto, gradually taking on broader meanings such as preference, correction, or degree. Its most traditional and standard use expresses pref- erence, often equivalent to rather than or instead of. For instance, we can say: andi- amo a piedi piuttosto che in macchina ("let's go on foot r a t h e r t h a n b y c a r , " ) o r p r e f e r i s c o r e s t a r e a c a s a 1 my, belonging to me 6 rat 7 (I) give 9 October 10 chin; (I) lie 11 (I) smell (of something) 12 metal 15 and (before a vowel) 16 land 17 he Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 (feminine of) my, belonging to me 2 gold 3 (has) been 4 round, circular 5 to smell (of something) 8 Friday 9 eighty 11 above, more than 13 from the 14 (plural of) of the piuttosto che uscire con la p i o g g i a ( " I ' d r a t h e r s t a y h o m e t h a n g o o u t i n t h e rain"). Piuttosto is also frequently used to soften or correct what has just been said, similar to or rather. There is also a debated contemporary spo- ken use, especially heard in northern Italy, where piut- tosto che can mean or in lists of options, which is not n e c e s s a r i l y u b i q u i t o u s l y accepted by all: possiamo vederci lunedì piuttosto che martedì ("We can meet Mon- day or Tuesday"). This usage is widespread in speech but still considered informal or unclear by many language commentators, since tradi- t i o n a l l y p i u t t o s t o c h e implies preference, not sim- ple alternatives. But it is this very range that makes piuttosto inter- esting, because it can express choice, correction, degree, a n d r e g i o n a l h a b i t s o f speech, all in one word. Non è un problema eco- n o m i c o , m a p i u t t o s t o finanziario. It is an economic problem, or rather a financial one. Il film era piuttosto lungo. The film was rather long. Oggi fa piuttosto caldo. It is quite hot today. Piuttosto: the word we use to show our strongest preferences © Auremar | Dreamstime.com 1 building 2 chair 3 mouth 4 song 5 wall 6 bird 7 six 8 boy 9 two 10 table 11 to dance 12 mother 13 black 14 light 15 four 16 dog 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 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADIZIONI STORIA CULTURA

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