favella

English

Noun

favella (plural favellas)

1. Alternative form of favela

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈvɛl.la/
• Rhymes: -ɛlla
• Hyphenation: fa‧vèl‧la

Etymology 1

Deverbal from favellare (“to speak, talk”) +‎ -a.

Noun

favella f (plural favelle)

1. (uncountable) speech (ability)

   L'uomo ha il dono della favella. ― Man has the gift of speech.

2. speech, utterance
   • mid 1300s–mid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XVIII”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[1], lines 52–54; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     […] Mal volontier lo dico; ¶ ma sforzami la tua chiara favella, ¶ che mi fa sovvenir del mondo antico.

     Unwillingly I tell it; but forces me thine utterance distinct, which makes me recollect the ancient world.

3. (literary) language, tongue

   l'italica favella ― the Italian language

Related terms

• favellare
• favola

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

favella

1. inflection of favellare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Maltese

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Italian favarella.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faˈvɛl.la/
• Rhymes: -ɛlla

Noun

favella f

1. chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus)

   Synonyms: favetta, ċiċċarda

Romansch

Alternative forms

• faviala (Sursilvan)
• faveala (Sutsilvan)
• favela (Surmiran)

Etymology

From Latin fabella, diminutive of fābula, or from a derivative of Vulgar Latin *fabellāre.

Noun

favella f (plural favellas)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader, poetic) language

Usage notes

Implies a strong emotional attachment. Used almost exclusively to refer to Romansch itself.

Synonyms

• lingua
• (Rumantsch Grischun): linguatg
• (Puter, Vallader, poetic): linguach