intendere

to intend, to mean

verb een-ten-DEH-reh Common

Origin: Latin intendere (to stretch toward, aim at).

Also means

to understand (archaic/formal)

Usage Note

Intendere is used reflexively as intendersi di (to know a lot about something: se ne intende di vini = he knows his wines). The past participle inteso appears in intesi (agreed!) as a set phrase. As a modal-like verb it often means 'to mean/intend' (cosa intendi dire? = what do you mean?). Auxiliary is avere.

Examples

"Cosa intendi dire con questo?"

Natural Translation

What do you mean by this?

Literal Translation

What intend you to-say with this?

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