Skip to content

maiale

pig; pork

noun mah-YAH-leh Rare
Food & Drink Meat

Origin: From Late Latin maialis, a pig consecrated to the goddess Maia.

Also means

swine (as insult)

Usage Note

Maiale means both the animal (pig) and the meat (pork), unlike English which distinguishes 'pig' from 'pork'. As a pejorative it calls someone filthy or morally reprehensible. The feminine is scrofa (sow) for the animal; the culinary form maiale is invariable by gender of the meat. Plural: maiali.

Examples

"Il maiale arrosto è il piatto principale."

Natural Translation

The roast pork is the main dish.

Explore Italian by topic