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boia

executioner

noun BOH-yah Rare

Also means

exclamation of surprise (regional)

Usage Note

Boia is grammatically masculine despite ending in -a, and is invariable in the plural: i boia. In standard usage it means a hangman or executioner. In Tuscan speech boia is also a mild exclamation expressing surprise or emphasis, similar to 'damn' (boia, che colpo!) — a usage that can confuse learners expecting a literal meaning.

Examples

"Il boia eseguì la condanna."

Natural Translation

The executioner carried out the sentence.

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