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militare

military

adjective noun mee-lee-TAH-reh Common

Origin: Latin militaris, from miles (soldier)

Also means

soldier

Usage Note

Militare functions as both an adjective (servizio militare — military service) and a noun meaning 'a soldier' or 'a serviceman'. As a noun it is masculine; the plural militari refers to military personnel collectively. The phrase fare il militare means 'to do military service'. Note: the noun use is common and the word does double duty in Italian far more than in English.

Examples

"Mio padre ha fatto il servizio militare a vent'anni."

Natural Translation

My father did military service at twenty.

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