acque

Acque is the plural form of acqua in Italian and is used to refer to waters in a collective or multiple-body sense. While acqua is typically used for water in a general, uncountable sense, acque appears when speaking of several bodies of water or when the term appears in geographic, legal, or literary contexts.

Etymology and grammar: the word derives from Latin aqua, with the modern Italian plural acque arising through historical phonetic development. In contemporary Italian, acque functions as the standard plural for feminine acqua and is common in formal and technical usage.

Usage and domains: acque appears in a range of expressions. In geography and law, it is found in terms such as acque interne (inland waters), acque territoriali (territorial waters), acque dolci (freshwater), and acque salate (saltwater). In literature and everyday speech, acque is used to evoke images of rivers, seas, or other bodies of water, often in a descriptive or lyrical sense.

Toponyms and naming: the form acque also appears in geographic names and hydronyms, where it signals the presence or importance of water in a landscape, such as springs, rivers, or regions associated with water features.

See also: related terms include acqua, the singular form, and terms used in hydrology and geography for different types of water bodies. Acque is a standard plural in modern Italian and remains common in both formal and descriptive language.