san
saint
Che ha buona salute e non è malato.
Definition & meaning
San means “Saint” and is used before certain male saints’ names, as in San Marco: “Saint Mark.”
It can also appear in place names and in names of churches, festivals, and institutions associated with a saint.
Grammar & Word origin
San is a shortened form of santo , meaning “saint” or “holy.” It normally precedes a masculine name beginning with a consonant, but santo is retained before certain sounds, such as s followed by another consonant, z, and gn.
Before a vowel, the form is sant’ . The feminine form is santa , shortened to sant’ before a vowel.
The word ultimately comes from Latin sanctus, meaning “holy” or “sacred.”
Synonyms & antonyms
There is no direct synonym or antonym for san as a title. Santo is its full form, but the two are not always interchangeable: the choice depends on the sound that follows.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
Visitiamo la chiesa di san Paolo oggi.adjective
We are visiting the church of Saint Paul today.
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