straniera

Straniera is the feminine singular form of the Italian noun and adjective straniero. It designates a woman who is foreign to a given country or community, or something that originates from outside that context. As an adjective it agrees with feminine nouns (for example, lingua straniera, città straniera). As a noun, it can mean a foreign woman, depending on context.

Etymology and form: the word derives from Latin extraneus meaning external or foreign, and reached Italian in the forms straniero and straniera. The feminine ending -a is the standard Italian feminine marker, yielding straniera as the feminine form of straniero.

Usage and examples: common phrases include lingue straniere (foreign languages) and una lingua straniera (a foreign language). Other examples are una città straniera (a foreign city) and una donna straniera (a foreign woman). In fiction, journalism, and everyday speech, straniera can refer to someone belonging to another country or culture, or more generally to anything unfamiliar or outside one’s own group.

Nuance: while the term is generally neutral, its connotations can vary with tone and context. It may carry neutral descriptive meaning in formal writing, or pejorative or exoticizing overtones in more charged discourse. 적eta is not appropriate in all contexts, but neutral usage remains common in education, travel, and international relations.