from pp.105-106

1874 vuoto empty, void, hollow. From Latin *vocitum (“empty”). Cognate with void, vacuum, vacant, Spanish vacío and French vide (“empty”). (Within Latin, there were both vo- and va- forms.) Not to be cofused with voto (“vote”).

1876 mobile mobile, movable, moving; furniture. Note the meaning when it is used as a noun. Furniture is movable, as opposed to a house or real estate (immobile in Italian). Examples, scala mobile (“escalator”, literally “mobile stairs”); comprare un mobile (“to buy a piece of furniture”; note English furniture cannot be directly preceded by the indefinite article like in any Romance language).

1877 spalla shoulder. From Latin spatula (“a broad, flat piece”). Cognate with spatula (a kitchen utensil or a lab tool, whose flat surface is like that of the shoulder back), Spanish espalda (“back”) and espada (“sword”), French épaule (“shoulder”). Example, mi fa male la spalla destra (“my right shoulder hurts”).

1878 sorgere to rise, to arise. From Latin surgere (“to arise”). Cognate with surge, source, Spanish and French surgir (“to arise”, “to emerge”). Examples, il sole sorge (“the sun rises”); mi sorge il dubbio che ... (“I start to doubt that ...”, literally “for me arises the doubt that ...”).

1881 tendenza trend; tendency. Note the first meaning, which also occurs in Spanish tendencia and French tendance. Example, tendenze (della) moda (“fashion trends”).

1886 carabiniere carabiniere, police. From French carabine (“carbine rifle”). The Italian Carabinieri are the military division of the police while the Polizia are the civil law division, even though both carabiniere and polizia may be translated as “police”.

1892 consegnare to deliver, to hand (over), to consign. English consign, a cognate, means “to transfer to someone for sale or transport or safekeeping”. This Italian word in most cases means “to deliver” but in some contexts may be translated as “to consign”. Not to be confused with consigliare (“to recommend”, “to advise”). Example, consegnare la merce a (“to deliver the goods to”).

1893 equilibrio balance, equilibrium. Italian does have the word derived from the same Latin etymon from which English balance is, bilancio, but it is much less common and is limited to a context of accounting, risk assessment, etc. Examples, equilibrio di bilancio (“budget balance”); equilibrio precario (“precarious balance”); perdere equilibrio (“to lose balance”).

1898 frequenza frequency, rate; attendance (especially a regular one, as in school). Note the usage other than the literal “frequency”. Examples, frequenza cardiaca (“heart rate”, literally “cardiac frequency”); frequenza obbligatoria (“mandatory attendance”).

1899 concordare to agree, convenire, essere d’accordo. From Latin concors (“agreeing”), where con- means “together” and cor “heart”. English has concord (“formal agreement”) and concordance. Example, concordo / convengo / sono d’accordo con te (“I agree with you”).

1901 alzare to raise, to lift. From Latin *altiare, from Latin altus (“high”), from which Italian alto (“high”) is derived. Examples, per favore alza la mano (“please raise your hand”; note nobody would say ... la tua mano); alzarsi! (“get up!”).

1906 indennità bonus, allowance, compensation, indemnity, benefit. From Latin indemnitatem. Cognate with indemnity (“security or protection against a financial loss”; “money paid as compensation”). While English indemnity is either a legal term or used in the context of war reparations, this Italian word is much more general. Note this word is invariable; the plural and the singular have the same form. Examples, indennità di disoccupazione (“unemployment benefits”); indennità di trasferta (“travel allowance”); indennità di guerra (“war indemnity”).

1908 fiume river. From Latin flumen (“river”). Cognate with flume (“a narrow channel with a stream running through it”). Latin fl- changed to Italian fi-. Not to be confused with fumo (“smoke”) or English fume. Example, il fiume Danubio (“the Danube River”; note fiume is masculine).

1909 finestra window. From Latin fenestra (“window”). Cognate with French fenêtre (“window”). English defenestration means “throwing someone out of (de-) window (finestra)”. Examples, sta presso la finestra (“he stands near the window”); controlla che la finestra sia chiusa bene (“check that the window is closed properly”).