Skip to content

merenda

afternoon snack

noun meh-REN-dah Rare
Food & Drink Dishes

Origin: From Latin merenda (midday meal), from merere (to deserve).

Usage Note

Merenda is feminine: la merenda. It refers specifically to the mid-afternoon snack eaten by children (and adults) around 4–5 pm, culturally important in Italy — fare merenda is a daily ritual. Typical merenda foods are bread with jam, fruit, or a merendina (packaged snack cake).

Examples

"I bambini fanno merenda dopo la scuola."

Natural Translation

The children have their afternoon snack after school.

Literal Translation

The children do snack after the school.

Explore Italian by topic