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noun

il biscotto

cookie

Piccolo cibo dolce, spesso secco e croccante, fatto con farina, zucchero e altri ingredienti, che si mangia spesso a colazione o con il tè.

Definition & meaning

The word biscotto has two primary meanings in Italian:

  1. Culinary: A small, usually sweet, baked product. It corresponds to the English "cookie" or "biscuit." It can refer to various types of dry, crunchy, or soft pastries.
  2. Figurative: In sports and slang, it refers to a "fixed result" or a "collusion." Specifically, it describes a situation where two teams agree to a specific outcome (often a draw) in a match to ensure that both teams advance or gain a mutual advantage, effectively cheating other competitors.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar: It is a masculine noun. The plural form is biscotti.

Origin: The term derives from the medieval Latin biscoctus, which literally means "twice cooked" (bis = twice, coctus = cooked). This refers to the historical method of baking the dough twice to ensure it became hard and dry, which was necessary for preservation during long journeys or sea voyages.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms (Culinary):

  • pasticcino (small pastry)
  • frollino (shortbread biscuit)

Synonyms (Figurative - "fixed match"):

  • accordo (agreement)
  • inciucio (messy or illicit political/sports deal)
  • combine (match-fixing)

Antonyms:

  • There are no direct antonyms for the culinary definition.
  • For the figurative sense, an antonym would be lealtà (loyalty/fair play) or competizione leale (fair competition).

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Examples

Ho mangiato un biscotto dolce.noun

I ate a sweet cookie.

Questo è un gelato biscotto molto buono.noun

This is a very good ice cream cookie.

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