impure s
noun1
In Italian, an "s" (/s/ or /z/) followed by another consonant. When used immediately before a masculine noun beginning with an impure s, the definite article changes from il to lo in the singular and from i to gli in the plural, the indefinite article changes from un to uno, the partitive article changes from dei to degli, and some adjectives and pronouns also change form.
› In Italian, an "s" (/s/ or /z/) followed by…
2
This also happens before words beginning with gn, pn, ps, x, y, and z and before certain words starting with ch that are derived from French.