a patto

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “at pact”.

Prepositional phrase

a patto

1. (with di or che) on the condition (of/that); provided (that)

   Synonym: col patto

   • 2019, George Orwell, translated by Nicola Gardini, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mondadori:

     Ma quel futuro poteva diventare anche vostro a patto di tener viva la mente come loro han saputo tener vivo il corpo, e di tramandare la segreta dottrina per cui due più due fa quattro.

     But you could share in that future if you kept alive the mind as they kept alive the body, and passed on the secret doctrine that two plus two make four.

     (literally, “But that future could also become yours on the condition of keeping the mind alive as they had known to keep the body alive, and to pass on the secret doctrine according to which two plus two makes four.”)

Anagrams

• optata, potata