Italian

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin aegrum (sick, ill).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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egro (feminine egra, masculine plural egri, feminine plural egre)

  1. (poetic) sick, ill
    Synonyms: ammalato, (literary, obsolete) egrotante, (literary) infermo, malato
    Antonym: sano
    • 1374, Francesco Petrarca, “Sonetto CCLXXXIV. [Sonnet 284]”, in Il Canzoniere[1], Florence: Andrea Bettini, published 1858, page 233, lines 5–7:
      Qual à già i nervi e i polsi e i pensier’egri ¶ Cui domestica febbre assalir deve, ¶ Tal mi sentia
      Like one who already has ill body and mind, soon to be attacked by common fever: thus I was feeling
    • 1581, Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata [Jerusalem Delivered]‎[2], Erasmo Viotti, Proemio, page 2:
      Così à l’egro fanciul porghiamo aſperſi ¶ Di ſoaue licor gli orli del vaſo
      Thus to the ill boy we hand the rim of the cup, covered in sweet liquid
  2. (poetic, figurative) distressed, troubled
    Synonyms: addolorato, afflitto
    Antonym: sereno
  3. (poetic, by extension) of or pertaining to illness or sickness
    • 1803, Ugo Foscolo, “All'amica risanata [To the Healed Friend]”, in Odi [Odes]‎[3], collected in Odi e sonetti di Ugo Foscolo, published 1890, page 30:
      Sorgon così tue dive ¶ Membra dall’egro talamo ¶ E in te beltà rivive
      Thus your divine body rises from your bed of illness, and beauty lives again in you

Derived terms

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Noun

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egro m (plural egri, feminine egra)

  1. a sick or ill person
    • 1581, Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata [Jerusalem Delivered]‎[4], Erasmo Viotti, Canto 18, page 409:
      Giungi aſpettato à dar ſalute à l’egra: ¶ D'amoroſo penſiero arſa, e ferita
      You come, expected, giving health to the sick one, burned and hurt by a thought of love

Further reading

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  • egro in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • egro in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Anagrams

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