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intendente

superintendent, intendant

noun een-ten-DEN-teh Less Common
People & Society Professions

Origin: Latin intendens, present participle of intendere, 'to direct attention to'

Also means

connoisseur, expert (informal)

Usage Note

Intendente historically referred to an administrative official overseeing a region or department (the French 'intendant' model). Today it survives in titles like Intendente di Finanza (a tax authority official). Informally, essere un intendente di means 'to be a connoisseur of' (un intendente di vini = 'a wine connoisseur'), a usage borrowed from Italian intendere ('to understand deeply').

Examples

"L'intendente ha ispezionato le scuole della regione."

Natural Translation

The superintendent inspected the region's schools.

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