Bello

It means "Beautiful", "Great", "Handsome, etc in Italian. But ..there is a but.

"Bello" comes from the Latin "Bellus", diminutive of "Bonus". It's not used in English except for the French "Belle"( referred to an attractive girl) or the Italian "Belladonna" (it means the same but it's also the name of a poisonous plant..).

Now the question is " What about expressions like "Casus Belli" or the word "Belligerant"?

What do they have to do with being "Beautiful'?

"Bellum"(not "Bellus") in Latin means "War", therefore the "Casus Belli" is the event that causes a conflict; it's also the origin of the adjective "Belligerent"and the adverb "Belligerently" (from "Belligerare"= to wage war).

Case solved. Live in peace and stay away from "Belladonna" (the plant..).

A presto!

Pier Giorgio.

#bello#bella#belligerent#latin#italian#learning

*This was my post originally posted in my blog "Italpier"in 2013.