← The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 9

English → It Preface Level 7/10

Since the downfall of the Arab Empire of Baghdád, Cairo has been the chief of Arabian cities: its Memlook Sulṭáns, introduced into Egypt in their youth, naturally adopted, to a great degree, the manners of its native inhabitants, which the 'Osmánlee Turks in later days have but little altered.

Dalla caduta dell'Impero arabo di Baghdád, Il Cairo è stata la principale delle città arabe: i suoi Sultani Memlook, introdotti in Egitto nella loro giovinezza, adottarono naturalmente, in larga misura, i costumi dei suoi abitanti nativi, che i Turchi 'Osmánlee nei tempi successivi hanno modificato ben poco.

Cairo is the city in which Arabian manners now exist in the most refined state; and such I believe to have been the case when the present work was composed."

Il Cairo è la città in cui i costumi arabi esistono oggi nel loro stato più raffinato; e tale credo fosse la situazione quando la presente opera fu composta."

Mr. Lane's first two visits to Egypt were made when, for the last time, Arab manners and customs as they existed in the age of the Arabian Nights could be studied; and his translation was written very shortly after his second return to England.

Le prime due visite del signor Lane in Egitto avvennero quando, per l'ultima volta, era possibile studiare i costumi e le usanze arabe così come esistevano nell'epoca delle Mille e una notte; e la sua traduzione fu scritta molto poco tempo dopo il suo secondo ritorno in Inghilterra.

Though some of the tales may be Indian or Persian in origin, in their present state they exhibit a picture of the manners, modes of thought, and language, of the court and times of the Memlook Sulṭáns of Egypt, which nearly resembled in these points those of the Khaleefehs of Baghdád, or the great Arab Empire.

Sebbene alcune delle storie possano essere di origine indiana o persiana, nel loro stato attuale offrono un quadro dei costumi, dei modi di pensare e del linguaggio della corte e dei tempi dei Sultani Memlook d'Egitto, che sotto questi aspetti erano molto simili a quelli dei Califfi di Baghdád, ovvero del grande Impero arabo.

De Sacy and Von Hammer, the two celebrated orientalists who differed widely in opinion as to the origin of the book, agreed that the tales in which the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed is introduced (the best, with few exceptions, in the collection) are Egyptian in character.

De Sacy e Von Hammer, i due celebri orientalisti che dissentivano ampiamente sull'origine del libro, concordavano nel ritenere che i racconti in cui viene introdotto il Califfo Hároon Er-Rasheed (i migliori, con poche eccezioni, della raccolta) siano di carattere egiziano.

But since the "Modern Egyptians" were described by Mr.

Ma da quando gli «Egiziani moderni» furono descritti dal signor

Vocabulary

Dalla
From the, combining preposition and feminine article
caduta
Fall, collapse, or downfall of something
dell'
Of the, contracted preposition before vowel
Impero
Empire, a large dominion ruled by an emperor
arabo
Arab or Arabic, relating to Arab culture
di
Of, indicating possession or origin
Il
The, masculine singular definite article
è
Is, third person singular of essere
stata
Been, past participle of essere, feminine form
la
The, feminine singular definite article
principale
Main, primary, or most important among others
delle
Of the, preposition combined with feminine plural article
città
City or town, an urban settlement
arabe
Arab, feminine plural adjective relating to Arabs
i
The, masculine plural definite article
suoi
His, her, or its, masculine plural possessive adjective
introdotti
Introduced or brought in, past participle masculine plural
in
In, preposition indicating location or inclusion
Egitto
Egypt, country in northeastern Africa
nella
In the, preposition combined with feminine singular article
loro
Their or they, third person plural pronoun
giovinezza
Youth, the period of being young
adottarono
They adopted, past tense of adottare
naturalmente
Naturally, in a natural or expected manner
larga
Large, wide, or broad, feminine singular adjective
misura
Measure, extent, or degree of something
costumi
Customs, traditions, or habits of a people
dei
Of the, preposition combined with masculine plural article
abitanti
Inhabitants, people who live in a place
nativi
Natives, people originally from a specific place
che
That, which, or who, conjunction or relative pronoun
nei
In the, preposition combined with masculine plural article
tempi
Times, periods, or eras of history
successivi
Subsequent, following in time or order
hanno
They have, third person plural of avere
modificato
Modified or changed, past participle of modificare
ben
Well or very, adverb emphasizing degree
poco
Little or few, indicating small quantity
cui
Whose or whom, relative pronoun in Italian
arabi
Arabs, people of Arab origin or culture
esistono
Exist, third person plural of esistere
oggi
Today, referring to the current day
nel
In the, preposition combined with masculine singular article
stato
State or condition, also past participle of essere
più
More or most, comparative or superlative adverb
raffinato
Refined, sophisticated, or cultivated in manner
e
And, coordinating conjunction joining words or clauses
tale
Such, of that kind or nature
credo
I believe, first person singular of credere
fosse
Was, imperfect subjunctive of essere
situazione
Situation, the circumstances or state of affairs
quando
When, conjunction or adverb of time
presente
Present or current, existing at this time
opera
Work, literary or artistic creation
fu
Was, third person singular simple past of essere
composta
Composed or created, past participle feminine of comporre
Le
The, feminine plural definite article
prime
First, feminine plural ordinal adjective
due
Two, the number two
visite
Visits, trips made to a person or place
del
Of the, preposition combined with masculine singular article
signor
Mister or sir, polite title for a man
avvennero
Occurred or took place, past tense of avvenire
per
For, through, or by, versatile Italian preposition
l'
The, definite article contracted before a vowel
ultima
Last, final, feminine singular ordinal adjective
volta
Time or occasion, as in one time
era
Was, third person singular imperfect of essere
possibile
Possible, able to be done or achieved
studiare
To study, to learn or examine carefully
le
The, feminine plural definite article
usanze
Customs or practices, traditional habits of a society
così
So, thus, or in this way
come
As, like, or how, conjunction or adverb
esistevano
Existed, imperfect tense of esistere, they existed
nell'
In the, preposition contracted before a vowel
epoca
Era or epoch, a particular period of history
Mille
Thousand, referring to one thousand nights
una
One or a, feminine indefinite article or numeral
notte
Night, the dark period between sunset and sunrise
sua
His, her, or its, feminine singular possessive adjective
traduzione
Translation, conversion of text into another language
scritta
Written, past participle feminine of scrivere
molto
Very, much, or a lot, adverb of degree
tempo
Time or weather, referring to duration or period
dopo
After, following in time or order
il
The, masculine singular definite article
suo
His, her, or its, masculine singular possessive adjective
secondo
Second, second in order or a return trip
ritorno
Return, the act of coming back
Inghilterra
England, country in the United Kingdom
Sebbene
Although or even though, concessive conjunction
alcune
Some, a few, feminine plural indefinite adjective
storie
Stories or tales, narrative accounts or histories
possano
May or can, present subjunctive of potere
essere
To be, fundamental Italian auxiliary and linking verb
origine
Origin, source or starting point of something
indiana
Indian, feminine adjective relating to India
o
Or, conjunction presenting an alternative choice
persiana
Persian, feminine adjective relating to Persia or Iran
attuale
Current or present-day, existing at this time
offrono
They offer or provide, third person plural of offrire
un
A or an, masculine indefinite article
quadro
Picture, frame, or depiction of a scene
modi
Manners, ways, or modes of doing something
pensare
To think, to reflect or consider something
linguaggio
Language or speech, the way people communicate
della
Of the, preposition combined with feminine singular article
corte
Court, a royal or noble household and its entourage
d'
Of, preposition contracted before a vowel
sotto
Under or below, preposition indicating lower position
questi
These, masculine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
aspetti
Aspects, particular features or sides of something
erano
Were, third person plural imperfect of essere
simili
Similar, resembling or alike in characteristics
a
To, at, or in, basic Italian preposition
quelli
Those, masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
ovvero
Or rather, that is, clarifying conjunction
grande
Great or large, adjective describing size or importance
celebri
Famous or celebrated, renowned among many people
dissentivano
They disagreed, imperfect tense of dissentire
ampiamente
Widely or extensively, to a great degree
sull'
On the, preposition contracted before a vowel
libro
Book, a written or printed literary work
concordavano
They agreed, imperfect tense of concordare
ritenere
To consider or believe, to hold an opinion
racconti
Tales or stories, short narrative accounts
viene
Comes or is, third person singular of venire
introdotto
Introduced, past participle masculine singular of introdurre
migliori
Best or better, superlative or comparative of buono
con
With, preposition indicating accompaniment or means
poche
Few, feminine plural indicating small number
eccezioni
Exceptions, cases that differ from the general rule
raccolta
Collection or anthology, a gathered set of works
siano
Are, present subjunctive of essere
carattere
Character or nature, essential quality of something
egiziano
Egyptian, relating to Egypt or its culture
Ma
But, conjunction indicating contrast or exception
da
By, from, or since, versatile Italian preposition
gli
The, masculine plural definite article before vowels
Egiziani
Egyptians, people from or relating to Egypt
moderni
Modern, belonging to or characteristic of recent times
furono
Were, third person plural simple past of essere
descritti
Described, past participle masculine plural of descrivere
dal
By the, preposition combined with masculine singular article
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