examples:
adamo
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
Cristoforo Colombo
Italian navigator who discovered the New World in the service of Spain while looking for a route to China (1451-1506)
John Dalton
English chemist and physicist who formulated atomic theory and the law of partial pressures; gave the first description of red-green color blindness (1766-1844)
Renato Cartesio
French philosopher and mathematician; developed dualistic theory of mind and matter; introduced the use of coordinates to locate a point in two or three dimensions (1596-1650)
Albert Einstein
physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity; Einstein also proposed that light consists of discrete quantized bundles of energy (later called photons) (1879-1955)
Adolf Hitler
German Nazi dictator during World War II (1889-1945)
Gottlieb Wilhelm Leibniz
German philosopher and mathematician who thought of the universe as consisting of independent monads and who devised a system of the calculus independent of Newton (1646-1716)
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian painter and sculptor and engineer and scientist and architect; the most versatile genius of the Italian Renaissance (1452-1519)
Maria
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
Michelangelo
Florentine sculptor and painter and architect; one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance (1475-1564)
Maometto
the Arab prophet who, according to Islam, was the last messenger of Allah (570-632)
Mosè
(Old Testament) the Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites from Egypt across the Red sea on a journey known as the Exodus; Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai
Blaise Pascal
French mathematician and philosopher and Jansenist; invented an adding machine; contributed (with Fermat) to the theory of probability (1623-1662)
Pitagora
Greek philosopher and mathematician who proved the Pythagorean theorem; considered to be the first true mathematician (circa 580-500 BC)
Jean Jacques Rousseau
French philosopher and writer born in Switzerland; believed that the natural goodness of man was warped by society; ideas influenced the French Revolution (1712-1778)
Zarathustra
Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism (circa 628-551 BC)
messia
the awaited king of the Jews; the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people
Aristotele
one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian philosophers; pupil of Plato; teacher of Alexander the Great (384-322 BC)
Gaio Giulio Cesare Ottaviano
Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC; defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at Actium (63 BC - AD 14)
Confucio
Chinese philosopher whose ideas and sayings were collected after his death and became the basis of a philosophical doctrine known a Confucianism (circa 551-478 BC)
Charles Robert Darwin
English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
Epicuro
Greek philosopher who believed that the world is a random combination of atoms and that pleasure is the highest good (341-270 BC)
Erasmo da Rotterdam
Dutch humanist and theologian who was the leading Renaissance scholar of northern Europe; although his criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church led to the Reformation, he opposed violence and condemned Martin Luther (1466-1536)
Henrik Ibsen
realistic Norwegian author who wrote plays on social and political themes (1828-1906)
Immanuel Kant
influential German idealist philosopher (1724-1804)
Malthus Thomas Robert
English economist who advocated the use of government monetary and fiscal policy to maintain full employment without inflation (1883-1946)
Carl von Linné
Swedish botanist who proposed the modern system of biological nomenclature (1707-1778)
John Locke
English empiricist philosopher who believed that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience (1632-1704)
Niccolò Machiavelli
a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government (1469-1527)
Thomas Robert Malthus
an English economist who argued that increases in population would outgrow increases in the means of subsistence (1766-1834)
Gregor Mendel
Augustinian monk and botanist whose experiments in breeding garden peas led to his eventual recognition as founder of the science of genetics (1822-1884)
Platone
ancient Athenian philosopher; pupil of Socrates; teacher of Aristotle (428-347 BC)
Claudio Tolomeo
Alexandrian astronomer (of the 2nd century) who proposed a geocentric system of astronomy that was undisputed until the late Renaissance
William Shakespeare
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
Socrate
ancient Athenian philosopher; teacher of Plato and Xenophon (470-399 BC)
Emile Zola
French novelist and critic; defender of Dreyfus (1840-1902)
J. V. Dzugasvili
Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)
Richard Wagner
German composer of operas and inventor of the musical drama in which drama and spectacle and music are fused (1813-1883)
Elisabetta I
Queen of England from 1558 to 1603; daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; she succeeded Mary I (who was a Catholic) and restored Protestantism to England; during her reign Mary Queen of Scots was executed and the Spanish Armada was defeated; her reign was marked by prosperity and literary genius (1533-1603)
Roosevelt Theodore
26th President of the United States; hero of the Spanish-American War; Panama Canal was built during his administration
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States; elected four times; instituted New Deal to counter the Great Depression and led country during World War II (1882-1945)
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis (1856-1939)
types:
fato
the ultimate agency regarded as predetermining the course of events (often personified as a woman)
operatore
an agent that operates some apparatus or machine
potenza
one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority
pericolo
a cause of pain or injury or loss
agente
a substance that exerts some force or effect
adulto,
grande
a fully developed person from maturity onward
richiedente
a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission
capitalista
a person who invests capital in a business (especially a large business)
privato
a person who holds no title
polemista
a person who disputes; who is good at or enjoys controversy
motorista
a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems
femmina
a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies
agnello
a person who lacks knowledge of evil
maschio
a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies
compagno,
uguale
a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
osservatore
a person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses
primitivo
a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
africano
a native or inhabitant of Africa
amerindio,
indiano
any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived
slavo
any member of the people of eastern Europe or Asian Russia who speak a Slavonic language
ebreo,
giudeo
a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
vincitore
a person with a record of successes
agnostico
someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something
autorità,
potere
(usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others
cattivo
a person who does harm to others
migliore
the person who is most outstanding or excellent; someone who tops all others
culturista
someone who does special exercises to develop a brawny musculature
candidato,
esaminando
someone who is considered for something (for an office or prize or honor etc.)
lottatore
someone who fights (or is fighting)
proselito
a person who has been converted to another religious or political belief
creatura
a human being; `wight' is an archaic term
doppietta,
sosia
someone who closely resembles a famous person (especially an actor)
iscritto
a person who enrolls in (or is enrolled in) a class or course of study
amicizia,
amico
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
diverso,
gay,
omosessuale
someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex
interprete
someone who uses art to represent something
sapiente
someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs
mancino
a person who uses the left hand with greater skill than the right
taumaturgo
a person who claims or is alleged to perform miracles
omonimo
a person with the same name as another
neutrale
one who does not side with any party in a war or dispute
occultista
a believer in occultism; someone versed in the occult arts
ottimista
a person disposed to take a favorable view of things
rosso
someone who has red hair
scienziato
a person with advanced knowledge of one or more sciences
schiavo
a person who is owned by someone
sfinge
an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret
acciuga
a person who is unusually thin and scrawny
travestito
someone who adopts the dress or manner or sexual role of the opposite sex
babbeo,
badalone,
baggiano,
balordo,
merlo,
pesce lesso,
piccione,
pollo,
scemo,
sciocco,
semplicione,
sempliciotto,
stupido,
testa di rapa,
tonto,
vittima
a person who is tricked or swindled
guerriero
someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
debole
a person who is physically weak and ineffectual
azzardo,
rischio
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
antiacido
an agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity (especially in the stomach)