rital

French

Etymology

1890: from the regular plural form les Ital(ien)s (“Italians”, pronounced /le‿ʁital(jɛ̃)/), with unexplained /ʁ/ for /z/, maybe underlining the trouble Italians have with pronouncing the French Rs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁi.tal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Noun

rital m (plural ritals, feminine ritale)

1. (ethnic slur) wop, dago (person of Italian descent)

   Synonyms: macaroni, spaghetti

Further reading

• “rital”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.