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caramella

candy, sweet

noun kah-rah-MEL-lah Rare

Origin: From Spanish caramelo, ultimately from medieval Latin cannamellis, 'sugar cane'.

Usage Note

Caramella means a hard candy or boiled sweet in Italian — not chocolate (il cioccolatino) or a caramel dessert (il caramello). The false friend to watch: caramel in English can refer to the sauce, which in Italian is il caramello. The plural le caramelle is regular.

Examples

"La nonna dava sempre una caramella ai nipoti."

Natural Translation

Grandma always gave the grandchildren a candy.

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