altalena

swing

noun ahl-tah-LEH-nah Rare

Also means

seesaw

Usage Note

Altalena primarily means a playground swing or seesaw, but it is widely used metaphorically: l'altalena dei prezzi (the fluctuation of prices), un'altalena di emozioni (an emotional roller-coaster). The plural is regular: altalene. In informal speech it can also describe a rope swing.

Examples

"I bambini giocano sull'altalena."

Natural Translation

The children are playing on the swing.

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