Learn English With Words From A Farewell to Arms
Alpini – (Italian) Alpine troops.
“Alto piano . . . but no piano” (Italian) “Upland plain . . . but no plain.”
Amalfi – a town in south Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno.
The American news was all training camps – It is unclear whether this refers to spring training prior to the baseball season, to the training of newly-enlisted soldiers, or to both.
Antitetanus – inoculation against tetanus, an acute infectious disease, often fatal, caused by the specific toxin of a bacillus which usually enters the body through wounds: it is characterized by spasmodic contractions and rigidity of some or all of the voluntary muscles, especially of the jaw, face, and neck.
Aosta – the Valle d’Aosta, a region of northwest Italy.
The apple – the fruit of knowledge, offered by the serpent to Eve. When she shared the apple with Adam, they were cast out of Eden by God.
Aquila – town in the Abruzzi region of Italy.
Archbishop Ireland – American archbishop, apparently, with whose case Henry is unfamiliar.
armoire – a large, usually ornate cupboard or clothespress.
articulation – a joint between bones.
Asti – a wine from the city of the same name in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy.
Babbitting metal – a soft white metal of tin, lead, copper, and antimony in various proportions, used to reduce frictions as in bearings.
Bacchus – the Roman god of wine and revelry; identified with the Greek Dionysus.
Bainsizza – plateau a plateau in present-day Slovenia.
“A basso gli ufficiali!” – (Italian) “Down with the officers!”
battery – an emplacement for heavy guns, or a fortification equipped with such guns.
bawdy – house a house of prostitution.
bersaglieri – (Italian) riflemen.
Béziers – a city in south France.
big Skoda guns – a type of artillery.
Black Forest – a wooded