Italian masculine plural definite article meaning 'the', used before masculine plural nouns beginning with vowels, s+consonant, z, gn, or ps.
From Latin 'illi' (those), evolving through Vulgar Latin into Italian. Part of the complex Italian article system that developed as Latin case endings simplified.
This tiny word represents one of the most challenging aspects of Italian grammar for English speakers - the idea that 'the' has multiple forms based on what follows it shows how languages can make the simple surprisingly complex.
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