ghigliottina
/ɡiʎ.ʎotˈti.na/feminine
The Italian word for guillotine is ghigliottina.
The noun ghigliottina refers to the machine used for capital punishment by decapitation. Like in English, the word can be used metaphorically to describe a sudden, sharp or decisive end to something, such as a sudden drop in prices or a political career.
Meaning: machine used for the application of capital punishment by decapitation (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun ghigliottina is feminine, meaning any accompanying adjectives must also be in the feminine form (e.g., una ghigliottina affilata). The related verb ghigliottinare, which means to execute someone with a guillotine, is a regular first-conjugation verb ending in -are.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡiʎ.ʎotˈti.na/. The word has 4 syllables and the stress is on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- While the machine is associated with death, the verb ghigliottinare is a staple of Italian sports journalism to describe a team being decisively knocked out of a competition.
- The letter h in ghigliottina is a silent orthographic tool used solely to maintain the hard 'g' sound before the letter 'i'. Without it, the word would be pronounced with a soft 'j' sound, similar to the English 'gel'.
- The Italian word ghigliottina is a direct loanword from the French name 'Guillotin', the official of the French Revolution. While many Italian words have Latin or Greek roots, this one is a modern import from the 18th century.
Examples in context
- Questa finestra è una ghigliottina, te lo dico.This window is a guillotine, I'm telling you.This example uses ghigliottina to describe a window.Tatoeba #6702987 by Guybrush88, translation #5953571 by mailohilohi
- La ghigliottina è stata utilizzata durante la Rivoluzione Francese.The guillotine was used during the French Revolution.
- Hanno costruito una ghigliottina per la mostra storica.They built a guillotine for the historical exhibition.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Giulia and Lorenzo are at a museum of historical weapons.
- GiuliaGuarda, c'è una ghigliottina vera in quella teca.Look, there is a real guillotine in that display case.
- LorenzoSì, è davvero impressionante e inquietante, Giulia.Yes, it is truly impressive and creepy, Giulia.
- GiuliaTi spaventa vedere uno strumento del genere?Does seeing such an instrument scare you?
- LorenzoUn po', ma è un pezzo importante di storia.A little, but it is an important piece of history.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “guillotine” translations and entries ghigliottina, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ghigliottina, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
