Scatola
NOUN [feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
Box
🇬🇧 Container of various shapes and materials, usually with a lid, used to store or transport objects.
🇮🇹 Contenitore di varia forma e materiale, solitamente con coperchio, usato per conservare o trasportare oggetti.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | - | la - una scatola |
| Plural | - | le - delle scatole |
Example sentences 💬
Ho trovato una vecchia scatola piena di foto in soffitta.
I found an old box full of photos in the attic.
Abbiamo bisogno di scatole di cartone per il trasloco.
We need cardboard boxes for the move.
Mi ha regalato una scatola di gianduiotti.
He gave me a box of Gianduiotti.
La nonna conserva i suoi gioielli in una scatola di legno.
Grandmother keeps her jewelry in a wooden box.
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Idioms with scatola 🇮🇹
A scatola chiusa
→ To buy/accept something without checking
Ho comprato questa casa a scatola chiusa, fidandomi dell'agenzia.
I bought this house without checking, trusting the agency.
In scatola (cibo)
→ Canned (food)
Preferisco il tonno in scatola a quello fresco per fare l'insalata.
I prefer canned tuna to fresh tuna for making salad.
Giochi in scatola
→ Board games
Da bambini passavamo i pomeriggi a giocare con i giochi in scatola.
As children, we spent our afternoons playing board games.
Scatola vuota
→ Empty shell (referring to organizations)
Quella società è solo una scatola vuota, non fa niente di concreto.
That company is just an empty shell, it doesn't do anything concrete
Rompere le scatole
→ To get on someone's nerves
Non rompere le scatole con queste domande!
Don't get on my nerves with these questions!
Avere le scatole piene
→ To be fed up
Ho le scatole piene di questo traffico!
I'm fed up with this traffic!
Girare le scatole
→ To get annoyed/angry
Mi girano le scatole quando arrivo tardi per colpa del traffico.
I get annoyed when I arrive late because of traffic.
Rottura di scatole
→ A pain in the neck
Questo progetto è una vera rottura di scatole.
This project is a real pain in the neck.
Togliersi dalle scatole
→ Get lost / Get out of someone’s way
Se non vuoi aiutare, togliti dalle scatole!
If you don't want to help, get lost!
Scatola nera
→ Black box (flight recorder)
La scatola nera ha rivelato le cause dell'incidente.
The black box revealed the causes of the accident.
Where does the word scatola come from? 🔎
The origin of scatola is debated. It could derive from:
• German Schachtel, itself from Schaft (originally Scaft) meaning "repository, case”.
• Late Latin Scatum [which gave Scatula], derived from Old High German Skatt (modern Schatz, "treasure"). This latter word is connected to the root SKAD- meaning "to cover, to hide", the same found in words like "casa" (house) and "scudo" (shield). This etymology would explain the original meaning of "container for storing valuable items".
