Word origins

• ArgentieriA surname from Italian.
• arpeggiandoA passage to be played in the style of a harp.
• arpeggioneA six-stringed musical instrument of the 19th century, fretted and tuned like a guitar but bowed like a cello, and held vertically between the knees.
• arrotolataA form of rolled-up pancetta.
• Arte PoveraA radical Italian modern art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, making use of worthless or common materials such as earth or newspaper, in the hope of subverting the commercialization of art.
• ArtioliA surname from Italian.
• AstorinoA surname from Italian.
• attaccaWithout any break between the current movement and the next movement of the work.
• attaccoA short musical phrase treated as a point of imitation, for example as the subject of a fugue.
• atterrateTo fill up with alluvial earth.
• AufieroA surname from Italian.
• AugelliA surname from Italian.
• AugelloA surname from Italian.
• avaniaA tax or fee imposed on foreigners under the Ottoman Empire, especially one considered to be irregular or extortionate.
• avellanoSynonym of Chilean hazelnut (“Gevuina avellana”).
• AversanoA surname from Italian.
• AvvampatoA surname from Italian.
• AzzaraA surname from Italian.
• Azzurrinithe Italian national under 21 football team
• BabinoA surname.
• bacaroA traditional wine bar of Venice or Veneto, often serving cicchetti (snacks and bar food).
• baccalaDried and salted codfish.
• BaccariA surname from Italian.
• BacigalupoA surname from Italian.
• BadolatoA surname from Italian.
• bagna caudaA hot Piedmontese dip made from salted anchovies, olive oil and garlic.
• bagnioA brothel.
• bajoccoA coin, originally copper, later silver, issued by the Papal States from the 15th century to 1865. In the 19th century the value was five hundredths of a lira.
• baldrescaA shelf that supports a loggia.
• ballerinoA male ballet dancer.
• ballotinismall beads (usually of glass, typically of 1-4mm diameter)
• balusteredHaving one or more balusters.
• bamboccianteAny of a group of Dutch painters, from the seventeenth century, who painted scenes from ordinary life; used attributively to describe the style of their paintings
• bandittiRobbers or outlaws.
• BaragonaA surname from Italian.
• BarbadoroA surname from Italian.
• barbuteA type of visorless helmet, of 15th-century Italian design, including a T or Y shaped opening for the eyes and mouth.
• BarbutoA surname from Italian.
• BardellaA surname from Italian.
• BareseOf, from or relating to the prefecture, Apulia, Italy.
• baronessaAn Italian baroness.
• BartolomeiA surname from Italian.
• BartolottaA surname from Italian.
• bassettoA tenor viol or small bass viol.
• basso continuoThe continuous realization of harmony throughout a musical piece, usually by a harpsichord and/or cello, typical of the Baroque period. Abbreviation: bc.
• basso ostinatoSynonym of ground bass.
• basso profondoA singer with a bass voice of the lowest range.
• BatagliaA surname from Italian.
• bavareseA bavaroise (creamy dessert).
• bavettebeef flank steak
• beccaficoA small bird, Sylvia hortensis, figpecker.
• BeccariA surname from Italian.
• bel cantoAn elegant style of singing characterized by beautiful tone and an effortless technique.
• BelcastroA surname from Italian.
• BellantoniA surname from Italian.
• BellaviaA surname from Italian.
• BellinaA surname from Italian.
• Bel PaeseA soft, mild, creamy Italian cheese shaped in small disks and produced from cow's milk, originally from Lombardy.
• BelsitoA surname from Italian.
• bemolThe flat symbol (♭), or a flattened note.
• BenantiA surname from Italian.
• BencivengaA surname from Italian.
• BenenatiA surname from Italian.
• BentivegnaA surname from Italian.
• BerchiddaA city and commune of the province of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy.
• BergoglioA surname from Italian [in turn from toponymy].
• BernardinaA female given name from Italian, of rare usage.
• bersagliereA marksman or rifleman in certain Italian regiments.
• BettacchiA surname from Italian.
• BettachiniA surname from Italian.
• BezzecchiA surname from Italian
• bezzoAn old silver Venetian coin worth half a soldo.
• BibisiA surname from Italian.
• BifulcoA surname from Italian.
• bigoliA type of spaghetti, with a rough texture, from the Veneto.
• BilleriA surname from Italian.
• BilottiA surname from Italian.
• BiondolilloA surname from Italian.
• birettaA square cap, originally with four ridges across the top, surmounted by a tuft, worn by Roman Catholic clergy (and by some in the Anglican Church). A three-sided biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy for liturgical celebrations.
• bisbigliandoTremolo produced by a bowed or plucked string instrument such as a harp.
• bittoa cheese produced in the Valtelline valley in Lombardy
• BivonaA surname from Italian.
• BizzarroA surname from Italian.
• BlandinoA surname from Italian.
• BlandoA surname.
• boccaleA unit of volume formerly used in Italy, varying by region.
• BoccioA surname from Italian.
• bocconciniSmall pieces of mozzarella cheese.
• BoiardiA surname from Italian.
• bolgiaAny of the divisions of the eighth circle of Hell, Malebolge, in Dante's Divine Comedy.
• bologninoAny of several types of coin once minted in Bologna.
• BonafedeA surname from Italian.
• bona robaAn attractive woman, especially one who is sexually available; a prostitute or courtesan.
• BonaviaA surname from Italian.
• BonavitaA surname from Italian.
• BontempelliA surname from Italian.
• BontempoA surname from Italian.
• BordonaroA surname from Italian.
• borghettoAn Italian shanty town.
• borlotti beanA kind of plump, creamy bean with variegated coloration, related to the kidney bean.