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irto

bristling, prickly

adjective EER-toh Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Textures

Origin: Latin hirtus

Also means

full of (difficulties)

Usage Note

Irto literally means covered in bristles or standing on end — irto di spine ('bristling with thorns'). Figuratively it means fraught with difficulties: un problema irto di ostacoli ('a problem bristling with obstacles'). The construction irto di + noun is the standard pattern. It comes from Latin hirtus ('rough, shaggy') and agrees in gender normally: irta, irti, irte.

Examples

"Il sentiero era irto di spine e rovi."

Natural Translation

The path was bristling with thorns and brambles.

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