Pericolo is an Italian word that means danger, risk, peril, or hazard. It comes from the Latin word periculum, which also means danger, risk, trial, or experiment, and is the root of the English words peril and perilous. In Italian, pericolo is a very common word used in everyday speech and on signs. For example, pericolo di morte means danger of death, zona di pericolo means danger zone, and the common warning sign Pericolo means Danger, similar to Danger signs in English. The phrase non c'è pericolo means there is no danger or no risk. Pericolo can refer to physical danger like a dangerous road, legal risk, or general hazard. It is a masculine noun in Italian, il pericolo, plural i pericoli. The related adjective pericoloso means dangerous, and pericolosamente means dangerously. So if you see pericolo on a sign in Italy, it means danger, warning you to be careful. The word is pronounced peh-REE-koh-loh in Italian, with emphasis on the second syllable. In English, you might encounter pericolo in Italian opera, literature, or when traveling in Italy. Its Spanish cognate is peligro, which also means danger, and French danger comes from the same Latin root. So pericolo simply means danger or risk in Italian, derived from Latin periculum.
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