from pp.1-2

61 stesso same. From Latin istum (“that”) + ipsum (“oneself”). Split the word into st- (“that”, cognate with Spanish este, Italian esto) and -esso (“oneself”, cognate with Spanish ese, Italian esso). The second element of solipsism (“self-centeredness”) is Latin ipse (“self”).

62 proprio own, one’s own. From Latin proprius (“own”). Use a mnemonic such as “this is my own property” or “property implies ownership”.

67 legge law. From Latin legem, a conjugated form of lex (“law”). Cognate with Spanish ley, French loi, English legal and loyal, and possibly English law if traced to Proto-Indo-European. The easiest way to remember this word is to pretend g is pronounced /g/ (instead of /dʒ/) and think of legal.

68 volere to want. Cognate with volition (“ability to use one’s will”).

69 andare to go. From Latin ambulare (“to walk”), cognate with ambulance, according to one popular theory, which unfortunately does not explain the b-d change. Alternatively, if you’ve ever paid attention to a music sheet, you may remember such Italian words andante (“at walking pace”), andantino (“at slightly faster walking pace”). Examples, andare a casa (“to go home”); vado a mangiare (“I’m going to eat”).

70 ora now; hour (cognate). Note the primary meaning is “now”.

71 dare to give. Cognate with Spanish dar (“to give”), English dose, dosage, dowry, data, date if trace to Proto-Indo-European. This is a false friend of English dare.

78 nostro our. Cognate with Spanish nuestro, French notre. The name Notre Dame of the cathedral in Paris or that of the university in the US literally means “Our Lady”.

84 ogni every. Cognate with omni- as in omnibus (old name for “bus”; an omnibus is for all or everybody), omnipotent (“all-powerful”).

88 poi then, later. Cognate with post (“after”), as in post-war.

91 sapere to know. Cognate with English savour, savor (both as verbs), sapiens (as in Homo sapiens, meaning “intelligent human”). From Latin sapere (“to know”). Note the irregular forms such as io so (“I know”), loro sanno (“they know”). Example, sa nuotare (“he knows how to swim”; note sapere is followed by the verb while English know is followed by how to and then the verb); sai / sa (“you know”; just like in English you know, this can be used as a filler in speech).

93 senza without. From Latin sine (“without”), conflated with absentia (“absence”) . Or think of sen- from sine and -za from absentia. Cognate with Spanish sin, French sans. You may have seen sine qua non (“essential condition”, literally “without which not”), or wondered what a sans serif font means (literally “without serif”; a serif is a short line added to the end of a stroke).

94 ancora still; again. Cognate with French encore. Imagine the audience shouting “encore!” The more common meaning is “still”.

97 già already. From Latin iam (“already”). Cognate with Spanish ya, the second element of French déjà (“already”, which has entered English as déjà-vu, literally “already seen”).

98 trovare to find. Commonly considered originated from Latin tropus (“trope”, “figure of speech”), but hard to justify for semantic reasons. Cognate with French trouver (“to find”). As a mnemonic, imagine you find a treasure trove.

99 vedere to see. From Latin videre (“to see”, “to view”). Cognate with view, video, Spanish ver.

103 volta time (instance, occurrence). From Latin volutus, a participle of volvo. Cognate with the root of revolt. The basic meaning is “turn”. Time (as in the 3rd time, not as in lunch time) is a re-occurrence of an incident, hence likened to a turn. Examples, per la prima volta (“for the first time”); due volte al giorno (“twice a day”).

111 via street, way, road. Cognate with English via, used in the sense of “by way of”. Just think of the word way in by way of.

118 diverso different; (plural) several. Cognate with diverse. In spite of cognation, the meaning is not really “diverse”. Consider it a false friend with English diverse. The synonym differente is much less used. Examples, questo è un libro diverso (“this is a different book”); diversi libri (“several / various books”).