squillò

Squillò is the third-person singular passato remoto form of the Italian verb squillare. Squillare means to ring or sound with a sharp, brief tone, as a bell, alarm, or telephone. The form squillò is used to describe a completed action in the past and is common in formal, literary, or historical narration.

In everyday speech, speakers typically use the passato prossimo ha squillato, as in La campana ha squillato or Il telefono ha squillato. The passato remoto squillò is characteristic of more literary styles and is often found in historical chronicles, novels, or traditional narrative.

The related noun squillo denotes the ringing sound itself and is tied to the sense of a sudden, penetrating ring. The verb and its past tense are standard elements of Italian conjugation, with squillò serving as the correct past historic form for the third-person singular in appropriate contexts.

Example: Quando la campana squillò, i cancelli si chiusero.