4000 prelievo withdrawl; sampling, drawing, taking. 4579 prelevare to withdraw, to take, to draw. From Latin prae- (“pre-”) + levare (“to lift”). The prefix probably should be interpreted as “in consequence of”, “as a result of” (as in Latin prae timore, “out of fear”) instead of “before”, or it serves as an intensifier. The action of withdrawl is lifting something out. Examples, prelievo di sangue / del sangue (“blood sampling”); prelevare denaro / soldi (“to withdraw money”).

4005 pastore shepherd; pastor, minister, parson. From Latin pastorem (“shepherd”, “person who tends sheep”). Note the first meaning. English pastor literally means or originally meant “shepherd”. Example, (cane da) pastore tedesco (“German shepherd”, cane lupo).

4008 inoltrare to forward. From in- + oltre (“further”) + -are (verb suffix). English has further on, but think of “further in” or “in further” instead to remember this word. Example, inoltrare una mail (“to forward an email”). See also oltre.

4015 pio pious, devout, religious. From Latin pius (“pious”). Cognate with pious, Spanish pío and French pieux (“pious”). Not to be confused with più (“more”).

4018 discreto discreet, unobtrusive, respectful of privacy, not drawing attention; moderate, fair, reasonable; discrete. Cognate with discreet, discrete (“separate”), Spanish discreto and French discret (“discreet”; “discrete”). As in other Romance languages, this word can mean either “discreet” (in most contexts) or “discrete” (likely in mathematics). But in English, the two senses are separated into two words. Examples, un prezzo discreto (“a fair price”); era discreto nei modi e chiuse la porta silenziosamente (“he was discreet in manners and quietly closed the door”); matematica discreta (“discrete mathematics”).

4019 severo severe, strict, stern, harsh. From Latin severus (“severe”, “strict”). Cognate with severe, Spanish severo and French sévère (“severe”, “strict”). Unrelated to English sever or several. Example, una regola severa / rigorosa (“a strict rule”; severa is just as common as rigorosa in this phrase, but English translation must say “strict”, not “severe”).

4022 astensione abstention. 5170 astenere to abstain. From Latin abstinere (“to abstain”, “to keep off”). Cognate with abstention, abstain, Spanish abstener and French abstenir (“to abstain”). Only Italian dropped -b-. Example, astensione / astenere dal fumo / dall’alcol (“abstention / to abstain from smoking / alcohol”).

4023 testata header, headline; headboard, testata del letto; warhead. From testa (“head”) + -ata (noun suffix with variant senses). Examples, testata giornalistica (“news / media outlet”, “newspaper”; literally “journalistic masthead” used metonymically). See also testa.

4025 formaggio cheese. From Latin formaticum (“cheese”). Cognate with French fromage (“cheese”), probably cognate with English form. Cheese is molded into a form. Example, formaggio parmigiano (“Parmesan cheese”).

4026 mossa (n.) move, movement, step; feminine form of mosso. The past participle of muovere is the irregular mosso, with no good explanation of ss; it came from Latin past participle motus (“moved”). As a mnemonic, imagine you remove the moss in a garden, say massage is moving hands on the body. The feminine form, as usual, of the participle can be used as a noun. Examples, una mossa intelligente (“a smart move”); datti una mossa! (“get a move on!”, “move!”).

4027 scuro dark. From oscuro (“dark”; “obscure”), which is cognate with obscure. Scuro (“dark”) is more literal than the more formal oscuro, which is often used figuratively. Not to be confused with scusa (“excuse”). Example, rosso / giallo scuro (“dark red / yellow”).

4040 staccare to remove, to separate, to detach, to knock off. 8753 distaccare to detach, to separate. Staccare is from distaccare, from Old French destachier (“to detach”), cognate with detach. Think of dis- of distaccare or s- of staccare as English de-, and -tac- as -tach, followed by the verb suffix -are. Staccare should not be confused with scattare (“to suddenly jump”; “to take a photo”). Examples, staccare il telefono (“to disconnect the phone”); non si staccano mai (“they never separate”).

4041 roccia rock. From Latin rocca (“rock”) by way of Old French. Cognate with rock. Doublet of rocca (“fortress”; “rock”), which nowadays is a relatively rare word. Example, roccia calcarea (“limestone rock”, literally “calcareous rock”).