Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- A peninsula of southern Europe projecting into the Mediterranean Sea between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas.
- A country of southern Europe comprising the peninsula of Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, and several smaller islands. It was settled in antiquity by Italic tribes, Etruscans, and Greek colonists, but from the fourth century BC became dominated by Rome, eventually forming the core of the Roman Empire. After AD 476, Italy was ruled by various Germanic tribes, local families, and popes. The 13th to 16th centuries saw a cultural flowering in such city-states as Pisa, Florence, and Venice that eventually spread throughout Europe as the Renaissance. Nationalism in the 19th century led to unification under King Victor Emmanuel II in 1870. Italy became a fascist state under Benito Mussolini, whose regime (1922–1943) was allied with Germany in World War II. After the war, Italy was reconstituted as a republic (1946). Rome is the capital and largest city.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A
country in southernEurope , one of the states of theEuropean Union . Official name: The Italian Republic (in Italian, la Repubblica Italiana).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Obama's Remarks to Turkish Parliament Pier Paolo Cito/Associated Press ITALY EARTHQUAKE: A firefighter looked at a victim lying amid debris in L'Aquila, Italy, after a 6. 3-magnitude earthquake killed at least 100 people and leveled buildings early Monday.
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BRIXEN, ITALY - AUGUST 03: Pope Benedict XVI (L) (besides his secretary Georg Gaenswein) waves to the people in front of Brixen Cathedral ahead of a sunday Angelus prayer on August 3, 2008 in Brixen, Italy.
Archive 2008-08-10 papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing to Ingrid Betancourt and her relatives during a meeting at pope's summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Archive 2008-09-01 papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI meets Ingrid Betancourt at his summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Archive 2008-08-31 papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing to Ingrid Betancourt and her relatives during a meeting at pope's summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Photos: Benedict XVI papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing to Ingrid Betancourt and her relatives during a meeting at pope's summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Archive 2008-08-31 papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI meets Ingrid Betancourt at his summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Archive 2008-09-01 papabear 2008
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CASTELGANDOLFO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 1: Pope Benedict XVI meets Ingrid Betancourt at his summer residence, on September 1, 2008 in Castelgandolfo, Rome, Italy.
Photos: Benedict XVI papabear 2008
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MAYOR PATRIZIA RICCIONI, BRACCIANO, ITALY (through translator) "I understand that it will be a ceremony with scientology right." says the mayor of Bracciano referring to Tom Cruise's religion, which isn't recognized here in Italy.
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'Lady Morgan,' writes the poet, 'in a _really excellent_ book, I assure you, on Italy, calls Venice an ocean Rome; I have the very same expression in _Foscari_, and yet you know that the play was written months ago, and sent to England; the _Italy_ I received only on the 16th ....
Little Memoirs of the Nineteenth Century George Paston
yarb commented on the word Italy
Italy the paradice of the earth, and the Epicures heauen, how doth it forme our yong master? It makes him to kisse his hand like an ape, cringe his neck like a starueling, and play at hey passe repasse come aloft when hee salutes a man. From thence he brings the art of atheisme, the art of epicurising, the art of whoring, the art of poysoning, the art of Sodomitrie.
- Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller, 1594
April 14, 2010