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burattino

puppet

noun boo-raht-TEE-noh Rare
Arts & Culture Performance

Origin: Possibly from buratto (coarse cloth), referring to the cloth bag body of early puppets.

Also means

marionette

Usage Note

Burattino is the hand puppet type (operated from below), while marionetta is string-operated. The name is famous as the original Italian title of Pinocchio's companion character. Figuratively, burattino means a person who is easily manipulated — a puppet of someone else's will.

Examples

"Il bambino ride guardando il burattino."

Natural Translation

The child laughs watching the puppet.

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