Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

podesta

/poʊdˈɛstə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.91 in modern English

Syllables: podes-ta
IPA: /poʊdˈɛstə/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A chief magistrate of various Italian republics and city-states in the Middle Ages.

noun

A municipal administrator during the Italian Fascist regime (1927–43).

name

A surname from Italian.

Example Sentences

"Secular palaces, such as that of the Tolomei, were rented for municipal use, and officials such as the Podestà were found lodgings in others."
"M.B. herself is tormented by anxiety […] for her husband, who, as Podestà of this town, is likely soon to get into trouble."

Etymology

From Italian podesta, from Latin potestas (“power; powerful one”). Doublet of poustie. See potent.

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: Podestà

Inflected Forms

podestas (plural)

Derived Forms

podestaressa

Rhymes With

fiesta esta siesta vesta testa festa cuesta mesta celesta pesta tempesta presta

Questions

How do you pronounce podesta?: The recorded pronunciation is /poʊdˈɛstə/.
What does podesta mean?: A chief magistrate of various Italian republics and city-states in the Middle Ages.
Where does podesta come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce podesta

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “podesta”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/poʊdˈɛstə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “podesta”.
Repeat and practice — Say “podesta” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.