"È un panino."
Translation:It is a sandwich.
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My Italian intuition tells me panino should literally mean "small bread". Is that correct?
905
Panino is a diminutive for pane, but trust me, it means sandwich. Two pieces of bread or a split loaf/roll with food in the middle.
Edit: Everyone seems obsessed with having panino mean just a 'roll', and while it does also mean 'roll', today, in Italy, when you talk about a panino, it's almost always a sandwich.
That's certainly the etymology! Whether it still literally means that or if semantic drift has changed or expanded the meaning is a different issue.
I was in Lecce last year and went into a small store. When I asked for a panino, I was handed a small bread. I had to clarify that I wanted a panino WITH....
- 905
In a bar you will be given a sandwich, no questions asked, likewise in a bakery, a small bread, in a store where both are sold, as you discovered you need to clarify.
