from pp.5-6

169 oltre further, farther, over, beyond. From Latin ultra, the source of English prefix ultra-. Not to be confused with altro (“other”).

180 invece instead, on the contrary. From in + vece < Latin vicis (“change”). The root is cognate with vicissitude (“change in life”), Spanish vez (“time”).

183 vero true, real. From Latin verus (“true”). Cognate with the root of veritable or verity, Spanish verdad, French vérité.

184 storia story; history. 518 storico historical, historic. From Latin historia. In Romance languages, this word, e.g. Spanish historia and French histoire, can mean either “story” or “history” depending on context. Adjective storico can be either “historical” or “historic”; English historic implies strong historical significance while historical is a plain adjective.

186 livello level (cognate). From Latin libella (“level”) through Old French livel, from which developed Italian livello and Middle English level.

188 atto act (cognate). From Latin actus. Whenever you see duplicate consonants, try changing the first one to a letter that produces a stop sound, and in this case c (pronounced /k/) leads you to act.

194 programma program, plan, schedule. The only thing to note here is this word is masculine in spite of -a ending. Many Romance language words of Ancient Greek origin and ending with -ma are masculine.

195 mentre while, as, whereas. From Latin dum (“while”; “during”; “until”) + interim (“meanwhile”), essentially the last letter of dum + interim. Cognate with Spanish mientras. As a mnemonic, imagine the word is short for meanwhile + interim.

197 studio (n.) study; studio, office. Note the first meaning. Even the second meaning is not limited to an artist’s or dancers’ studio. Examples, studio della chimica (“study of chemistry”); studio medico (“doctor’s office”, ufficio del medico, which is less common since mid-1970’s).

198 meno less (adj.; adv.; prep.). From Latin minus, cognate with Spanish menos, French moin. This word is easy but note some phrases,e.g. a meno che (“unless”).

201 ministro minister. 1248 ministero ministry. Note that ministro does not mean “ministry”. This word, as well as French ministre and Spanish ministro, is from Latin minister, while ministero, as well as French ministère and Spanish ministerio, is from Latin ministerium. If you prefer a mnemonic to help remember the difference, imagine the extra e in ministero turns the meaning of the word to the place where the minister works. Example, il ministro lavora al ministero (“the minister works at the ministry”).

207 mese month (cognate). From Latin mensis. Cognate with Spanish mes, French mois. Dropping n occurs for this word in all Romance languages, and possibly in later Latin. Also cognate with English menstrual. Alternatively, use a mnemonic such as “this month is a mess”.

208 rapporto relationship, rapport; report; ratio. Cognate with French rapport, which has entered English. It literally means “carrying back”, but figuratively “what one person sends out the other sends back” (Wikipedia). The three meanings of this word are all frequent. Examples, il rapporto tra marito e moglie (“the relationship between husband and wife”); rapporto della polizia (“police report”); rapporto prezzo-utili (“price-earnings ratio”).

211 sembrare to seem. From Latin similare. Cognate with simulate, similar, Spanish semejar (“to resemble”), ,French sembler (“to seem”), with the root of resemble. The Latin word lost the second i, and then b was inserted to make the m to l transition sound easier. Example, sembra che ... (“it seems that ...”).

215 settore sector. Change the first t of the double t’s to a stop consonant (plosive), c in this case, to see the cognation.

216 piano plan (n.); floor; plane (n.); piano, pianoforte; level, flat, plain (adj.). From Latin planus (“flat”, “plain”). Cognate with plan, plane, plain, French plan, plain, Spanish llano (“plain”), plano. Note the multitude of meanings, much more than just “piano” (musical instrument). Examples, piano inclinato (“inclined plane”); una casa di / a 2 piani (“a 2-story house”); hai qualche piano per il fine settimana? (“do you have any plan for the weekend?”); una superficie piana (“a flat surface”).

220 presso near; at, with. From Latin presse. Cognate with press, French près (“near”), Spanish prensa (“press”). Pressing implies near, and the verb is grammaticalized to a preposition. Examples, sta presso la / vicino alla finestra (“he stands near the window”; note presso is not followed by a); abita presso i genitori (“he lives with his parents”).

221 dato given; data (singular), datum. The first meaning is actually the past participle of datare (“to give”). The second meaning is “datum”, or more commonly “data” in singular sense, and is not to be confused with Italian data (“date”). Example, dato che ... (“given that ...”); base dei dati (“database”, literally “base of data” where data is plural).

222 comunque no matter how, anyway, in any case. From come (“how”) + -unque (“-ever”, from Latin quom / cum “with” + quam / qui, “any”). Example, devi farlo comunque (“you have to do it anyway”); comunque lo fai, non gli piacerà (“no matter how / however you do it, he won’t like it”).