Winter sport

The last entry is l’abbonamento stagionale, and the noun carrying it does in one word what English spreads over four. Un abbonamento is any arrangement in which money is handed over once for a stretch of time instead of each time the thing is used, and Italian applies that single idea everywhere without changing the word. It is the « season pass » of this page. It is l’abbonamento a una rivista, which we call a « subscription ». It is l’abbonamento dell’autobus, a « travelcard » or a « season ticket » depending on the town. It is l’abbonamento allo stadio, and there « subscription » is simply wrong, because a supporter holds a « season ticket ». And it is l’abbonamento to a streaming service, where we are back to « subscription ». One verb serves all of them, abbonarsi. The consequence runs one way only. Leaving Italian you have to choose, and the object decides rather than the bargain: paper and screens take « subscription », journeys and seats take « season ticket » or « pass ». Going the other way the choosing stops, because every one of them is un abbonamento.