matassa
skein, tangle
noun mah-TAHS-sah Rare
Origin: Arabic maṭāsa (silk thread)
Usage Note
Matassa is literally a loose coil of yarn or thread, but the idiomatic phrase districare la matassa (to unravel the skein) means to make sense of a complicated matter. Note the Arabic origin — one of many Italian words absorbed through medieval trade. Plural: matasse.
Examples
"Ha avvolto la matassa di lana."
Natural Translation
She wound up the skein of wool.
Related Words
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