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polizia

police

noun poh-lee-TSEE-ah Common

Origin: Latin politia (civil administration), from Greek politeia

Usage Note

Polizia is a feminine singular collective noun — it is treated as singular even though it refers to a force of many officers: la polizia è arrivata ('the police have arrived'). The individual officer is il poliziotto (m) or la poliziotta (f). Chiamare la polizia is 'to call the police'.

Examples

"La polizia ha arrestato il ladro."

Natural Translation

The police arrested the thief.

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