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zio

uncle

noun TSEE-oh Rare
People & Society Family

Origin: Latin avunculus (maternal uncle), via Venetian/contracted forms

Usage Note

Zio is masculine; the feminine is zia (aunt). The plural is gli zii (uncles, or aunt and uncle collectively). In colloquial Italian, zio is also used informally to address a friend — similar to 'mate' or 'dude' in English. The possessive usually drops the article: mio zio (not il mio zio), unlike most other nouns.

Examples

"Mio zio abita a Roma."

Natural Translation

My uncle lives in Rome.

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