ingrediente
ingredient
noun een-greh-DYEN-teh Rare
Origin: From Latin ingredientem, present participle of ingredi (to enter), reflecting something that 'enters' a mixture.
Usage Note
Ingrediente is masculine despite ending in -e, which is a common pattern for Italian nouns of Latin origin. The plural is regular: ingredienti. Used both in cooking and figuratively (an ingrediente del successo = ingredient for success).
Examples
"Qual è l'ingrediente segreto di questa salsa?"
Natural Translation
What is the secret ingredient of this sauce?

Free starter pack
Building your Italian vocabulary?
Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.
Related Words
Explore Italian by topic
ItalianNow
5 min read