bisnonno
The Italian phrase for great grandfather is bisnonno.
bisnonno is used to refer to the father of one's grandparent.
What does it mean word for word?
The prefix bis- means 'twice' or 'second', indicating that he is the second generation of grandparents.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of bisnonno is i bisnonni, which means the great grandfathers.
Did you know?
- While bisnonno refers to a great grandfather, adding another bis- does not work for further generations. To describe a great-great grandfather, Italians use trisnonno, where tri- signifies the third level of grandfatherhood.
- The prefix bis- in bisnonno is a direct descendant of the Latin prefix meaning 'twice', which also appears in the English word 'bisect'.
- In Italy, the term bisnonni is frequently used as a collective noun to refer to both great grandfathers and great grandmothers together, rather than just the men.
Examples in context
- È il mio bisnonno.He is my great-grandfather.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as your bisnonno.Tatoeba #5190452 by Guybrush88, translation #2029174 by rafael8243
- Questo è il mio bisnonno.This is my great-grandfather.This sentence is useful for introducing someone as your bisnonno.Tatoeba #11454592 by Guybrush88, translation #10563261 by ddnktr
- Mio bisnonno era il capo di una banda.My great-grandfather was the leader of a gang.This sentence is useful for describing a past role held by your bisnonno.Tatoeba #2193256 by graphite, translation #2193167 by Tamy
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Martina are looking at old family photographs.
- FrancescoChi è l'uomo in questa foto?Who is the man in this photo?
- MartinaLui è il mio bisnonno.He is my great grandfather.
- FrancescoSembra molto giovane in questa immagine.He looks very young in this image.
- MartinaSì, mio bisnonno aveva vent'anni allora.Yes, my great grandfather was twenty then.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
