1605 spettare to be up to (someone to decide etc.); to be due (should be given to). From Latin spectare (“to watch”, “to look at”). Cognate with spectate, spectator. Both meanings of this word imply that you need to watch or keep an eye on something. Not to be confused with aspettare (“to wait”; “to expect”), even though they share the same root back in Latin. Examples, spetta / sta a te decidere (“it’s up to you to decide”); a chi spetta la pensione di invalidità? (“who is entitled to the disability pension?”, literally “to whom is due the disability pension?”); gli spetta una pensione (“he’s entitled to a pension”).

1607 aereo airplane, aircraft, aeroplano; (adj.) air, aerial. From Latin aerius (“of air”, “aerial”). Cognate with aerial, air. Doublet of aria (“air”). In the first sense, the word can be considered short for aeroplano (note: not *aereoplano). Examples, aereo da caccia (“fighter plane”); aereo a reazione (“jet plane”, literally “airplane by way of reaction”); vista / visione aerea (“aerial view”; note aereo/a is used adjectively).

1608 desiderare to want, to wish, to desire. 1674 desiderio desire, wish. From Latin desiderare (“to desire”). Cognate with English desire, Spanish desear and French désirer (“to desire”). Latin -dera- changed to -dra-, -rra-, and then -ra-. Example, esprimere un desiderio (“to make a wish”, literally “to express a desire”).

1627 predetto above-mentioned, aforementioned. The root detto is the past participle of dire (“to say”). The word literally means “pre-said” or “previously said”. Do not confuse this word with English predict, which would be predire in Italian. Although it may mean “predicted”, previsto is a more common word in that sense.

1628 modulo module; form, formulario. Note the second meaning. A form is like a module or unit. Example, per favore, compili questo modulo (“please fill in this form”).

1631 onda wave. From Latin unda (“wave”). Cognate with undulate (“to move or cause to move in a wavelike motion”), Spanish onda and French onde (“wave”). Examples, forno a microonde (“microwave oven”, literally “furnace with microwaves”); in onda (“on the air”, said of a radio or TV show; onda refers to the electromagnetic wave in broadcast).

1635 spingere to push. From Latin ex- + pangere (“to fasten”, “to fix”; “to drive”). The root is cognate with the root of impinge (“to impact”). Or use a mnemonic and imagine you pin a picture by pushing tacks through it into the wall. Example, spingere o tirare la porta (“to push or pull the door”).

1637 rilevante considerable, remarkable. Present participle of rilevare (“to notice”). While cognate with English relevant, their meanings are so different that they can be considered false friends; Italian pertinente means “relevant”. (Multiple online dictionaries and translators incorrectly translate this word as “relevant”.) Examples, danni rilevanti (“significant damage”); rischio di incidente rilevante (“risk of major accident”). See also rilevare.

1638 giovedì Thursday. From Latin Iovis dies (“day of Jupiter”), where Iovis is the genitive form of Iuppiter (“Jupiter”). Cognate with Spanish jueves and French jeudi (“Thursday”). Alternatively, as a mnemonic, imagine this is a day for un giovane or a young man. For usage examples, see the headword domenica (“Sunday”), but note giovedì is masculine.

1639 strano strange. Cognate with strange, extraneous. Related to straniero (“foreign”). To avoid confusion with this doublet, as a mnemonic, note both straniero and foreign have i while strano and strange do not. Example, una storia strana ma vera (“a strange but true story”). See also straniero.

1644 tirare to pull, to draw, to drag; to shoot, to throw. Cognate with the root of retire (literally, “to draw back”, “to withdraw”), with tirage (“drawing wine from barrel”; “drawing in lottery”), tear (if traced to Proto-Germanic). Examples, tirare fuori / su (“to pull out / up”); spingere o tirare la porta (“to push or pull the door”).

1648 rilievo relief; importance, emphasis, prominence, highlight. Note the second meaning. When something is raised relative to its surroundings, as in the case of a relief sculpture, it becomes prominent or important. Examples, dare rilievo a / mettere in rilievo (“to stress / highlight”); un personaggio di rilievo (“an important character person / character”).

1652 intanto meanwhile, in the meantime, at the same time; (followed by che) while, mentre. If we have to analyze this word, focus on “so” or “such” (but not “much”) in the meaning of tanto, and we realize meanwhile can be understood as “during such time or so and so time”. Thus, literally intanto is “in such (time)”. Example, tu lavori su A, intanto io lavoro su B (“you work on A; in the meantime, I work on B.”).

1654 altrimenti otherwise, else.

1656 accertamento assessment; ascertainment, verification, check. 1779 accertare to ascertain, to verify, to check; to assess. Example, accertamento fiscale (“tax assessment”; this is not quite the same as fiscal assessment in English).