sputare

to spit

verb spoo-TAH-reh Rare

Usage Note

Sputare takes avere as its auxiliary. The idiom sputare il rospo ('to spit out the toad') means to come clean or confess something. Sputare sangue ('to spit blood') means to work extremely hard. These vivid idioms make it a useful word beyond its literal sense.

Examples

"È vietato sputare per terra."

Natural Translation

Spitting on the ground is forbidden.

Literal Translation

It-is forbidden to-spit on ground.

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