B2 · 50 words
History and sources in Italian
Source, testimony, dating, interpretation — the words for speaking about the past without inventing it.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
Twenty-first on this list is il trattato, given here as a treaty because the sentence beside it is about a signature in a railway station. The word does a second job that English hands to a different noun altogether. Un trattato is also a treatise: Leonardo’s Trattato della pittura is a book and not a pact, and un trattato di diritto civile is the fat volume a student carries about. English keeps the two apart, and the split is nothing but a matter of which door each word came through. « Treaty » and « treatise » both go back to Latin tractare, to handle, to deal with a thing — and dealing with a matter is exactly what two states do at a table and what an author does over four hundred pages. English took one Anglo-Norman form for the agreement and another for the book, and has kept them a syllable apart ever since. Italian never separated them, so the sentence has to. If it is signed, it is a treaty; if it is read, it is a treatise.
The words
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Verb (4)
datareto dateVerbB2
Il ponte si data al secolo scorso.The bridge is dated to the last century.
attestareto attestVerbB2
Due lettere attestano l’incontro.Two letters attest the meeting.
custodireto keep safeVerbB2
Gli originali si custodiscono al riparo dalla luce.The originals are kept safe out of the light.
narrareto relateVerbB2
Il cronista narra i fatti senza giudicarli.The chronicler relates the events without judging them.
Adjective (2)
Grammar for these: Adjective agreement · Where the adjective stands
incontestatoundisputedAdjectiveB2
Il fatto è incontestato dal ritrovamento del registro.The fact has been undisputed since the register was found.
inverificabileunverifiableAdjectiveB2
La provenienza del pezzo è inverificabile.The provenance of the piece is unverifiable.
Phrase (4)
risalire ato go back toPhraseB2
L’usanza risale a una guerra dimenticata.The custom goes back to a forgotten war.
smontare una tesito take a thesis apartPhraseB2
Un solo documento smonta una tesi intera.A single document takes a whole thesis apart.
secondo le fontidepending on the sourcePhraseB2
Secondo le fonti erano trecento oppure tremila.Depending on the source there were three hundred of them or three thousand.
in mancanza di provefor want of evidencePhraseB2
In mancanza di prove la questione resta aperta.For want of evidence the question remains open.
Noun (f) (22)
Grammar for these: Definite article: il, lo, la · Indefinite article: un, uno
la fonte primariathe primary sourceNoun (f)B2
La fonte primaria risale al secolo successivo.The primary source dates from the following century.
la datazionethe datingNoun (f)B2
La datazione resta discussa.The dating is still disputed.
la cronologiathe chronologyNoun (f)B2
La cronologia è stata ricostruita dalle lettere.The chronology was reconstructed from letters.
l’epocathe eraNoun (f)B2
All’epoca la città aveva due ponti.At the time the town had two bridges.
l’antichitàantiquityNoun (f)B2
L’antichità ci parla soprattutto attraverso la pietra.Antiquity speaks to us above all through stone.
la traccia materialethe physical traceNoun (f)B2
Le tracce materiali dell’incendio sono visibili sulla trave.The physical traces of the fire can be seen on the beam.
la congetturathe conjectureNoun (f)B2
La congettura più diffusa resta inverificabile.The most widespread conjecture remains unverifiable.
l’interpretazionethe interpretationNoun (f)B2
L’interpretazione è cambiata due volte in cinquant’anni.The interpretation has changed twice in fifty years.
la memoria collettivacollective memoryNoun (f)B2
La memoria collettiva conserva le date, non le cause.Collective memory keeps the dates and not the causes.
la commemorazionethe commemorationNoun (f)B2
La commemorazione si tiene ogni autunno.The commemoration is held every autumn.
l’alleanzathe allianceNoun (f)B2
L’alleanza non è sopravvissuta alla pace.The alliance did not survive the peace.
la rivoltathe revoltNoun (f)B2
La rivolta durò tre settimane.The revolt lasted three weeks.
la colonizzazionecolonisationNoun (f)B2
La colonizzazione ha lasciato confini rettilinei.Colonisation left straight borders behind it.
l’indipendenzaindependenceNoun (f)B2
L’indipendenza fu proclamata di martedì.Independence was proclaimed on a Tuesday.
la distruzione di archivithe destruction of archivesNoun (f)B2
La distruzione di archivi spiega i vuoti nel racconto.The destruction of archives explains the holes in the story.
la propagandapropagandaNoun (f)B2
La propaganda si riconosce dagli aggettivi.Propaganda can be recognised by its adjectives.
la storiografiahistoriographyNoun (f)B2
La storiografia recente rilegge gli stessi archivi.Recent historiography reads the same archives again.
la disputa storiograficathe scholarly controversyNoun (f)B2
La disputa storiografica riguarda il numero delle vittime.The scholarly controversy is about the number of victims.
la richiesta di rimpatriothe repatriation claimNoun (f)B2
La richiesta di rimpatrio degli oggetti è ufficiale.The repatriation claim for the objects is official.
la collezione musealethe museum collectionNoun (f)B2
La collezione museale espone una copia, non l’originale.The museum collection shows a copy and not the original.
l’epigrafethe funerary inscriptionNoun (f)B2
L’epigrafe è illeggibile sulla metà destra.The funerary inscription is illegible on the right-hand half.
la tradizione oralethe oral traditionNoun (f)B2
La tradizione orale spiega il nome del paese.The oral tradition explains the name of the village.
Noun (m) (18)
Grammar for these: Definite article: il, lo, la · Indefinite article: un, uno
il testimone ocularethe eyewitnessNoun (m)B2
Il testimone oculare ha parlato molto più tardi.The eyewitness spoke much later.
l’archiviothe archiveNoun (m)B2
L’archivio comunale è aperto al pubblico.The municipal archive is open to the public.
il manoscrittothe manuscriptNoun (m)B2
Il manoscritto è incompleto alla fine.The manuscript is incomplete at the end.
il documento coevothe contemporary documentNoun (m)B2
Un documento coevo vale più di un racconto tardivo.A contemporary document counts for more than a late account.
il secolothe centuryNoun (m)B2
Il secolo successivo ha cancellato tutto.The following century wiped out everything.
il Medioevothe Middle AgesNoun (m)B2
Il Medioevo non è cominciato ovunque nello stesso momento.The Middle Ages did not begin everywhere at once.
lo scavothe excavationNoun (m)B2
Lo scavo ha restituito pochi oggetti.The excavation yielded few objects.
il repertothe findNoun (m)B2
Il reperto è esposto in una teca.The find is displayed in a glass case.
il racconto ufficialethe official accountNoun (m)B2
Il racconto ufficiale tace la carestia.The official account says nothing about the famine.
il patrimonio culturalecultural heritageNoun (m)B2
Il patrimonio culturale è tutelato per legge.Cultural heritage is protected by law.
il trattatothe treatyNoun (m)B2
Il trattato fu firmato in una stazione.The treaty was signed in a railway station.
il regimethe regimeNoun (m)B2
Il regime vietò i giornali.The regime banned the newspapers.
l’esodothe exodusNoun (m)B2
L’esodo ha svuotato interi paesi.The exodus emptied whole villages.
il contestothe contextNoun (m)B2
Fuori contesto la parola dice il contrario.Out of context the word says the opposite.
l’anacronismothe anachronismNoun (m)B2
Parlare qui di nazione è un anacronismo.To speak of a nation here is an anachronism.
il vuoto documentariothe gap in the recordNoun (m)B2
Un vuoto documentario di vent’anni separa i due registri.A gap in the record of twenty years separates the two registers.
il registro parrocchialethe parish registerNoun (m)B2
Il registro parrocchiale annota ogni nascita.The parish register records every birth.
il censimentothe censusNoun (m)B2
Il censimento di quell’anno è andato a fuoco.That year’s census went up in flames.
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
This list belongs to History, research and data — 19 lists and 667 words that can also be practised as a whole.