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Pace: Passo, andatura, velocità.
Rate or speed in walking, running, advance of a plan, etc., usually over a period of time.

Packet authentication: User authentication plus assurance of data integrity means packet authentication and assures the recipient of an IP packet not only that the sender is who he or she claims to be but also that the data has not been modified in any way during transmission. Within the general context of gaining access to networks and resources authentication assures the identity of the user without assuring data integrity.

Page view: A unit for measuring Web site readership which corresponds to one person viewing one page, or at least a portion of a page, one time. If a person leaves a certain page and returns to it in the same visit to the Web site two page views are counted. Page views are a more difficult to measure than hits but are a much more useful and relevant measure of the attention a page garners from viewers.

Paperwork: Lavoro d'ufficio, riempire moduli.
The record keeping chores of maintaining a business. Paperwork is literally the work associated with documenting business activities on paper for later recall.

Paragraph: Paragrafo.
Each paragraph deals with one aspect of the subject matter. Paragraphs are linked in a logical way. The conclusion puts the subject matter in the right perspective.

Parallel Port: Porta parallela.
An interface on a computer used for connecting printers and other devices. Most PCs have at lease one parallel port along with a serial port and special ports for a mouse and keyboard.

Parent company: Società madre, società di controllo.
A company that owns a majority stake (51% or more) of another company's shares. It may have its own operations, or it may have been set up solely for the purpose of owning the operating company.

Parliament: Parlamento.
The name was first given to the British legislature, which dates back to 1275, and has since been adopted in many other countries. Countries with parliaments operate under the parliamentary rather than presidential system. The government is formed by the party that has a majority of seats in parliament. The government then controls the legislature, until such time as it lose its majority, usually in an election, but sometimes also by a vote of confidence.

Parliamentary committees: Commissioni parlamentari.
Various committees have been set up within the European Parliament to organise its work. The members of each committee are elected at the beginning of and half-way through each parliamentary term, according to their political affiliation and their expertise.

Participatory democracy: Democrazia partecipativa, diretta.
A system of government in which individuals and interest groups are involved directly in decision-making.

Partnership: Società di persone, società in nome collettivo.
The Uniform Partnership Act that is in force in most states defines a partnership as "an association of two or more persons who carry on a business for profit as co-owners." A partnership can hold title to real property in the name of the partnership, holding by tenancy in partnership. One tax advantage of this form of ownership is that the partnership itself does not pay taxes. However, the partnership must file a partnership information return (Form 1065) showing how much income the partnership distributes to each partner (Schedule K-1). Then each partner is responsible for paying his or her own tax.

Part-time job: Lavoro a orario ridotto.
Working or giving work during only a part of the regular working time.

Password: Parola d'ordine.
A secret series of characters that enables a user to access a file, computer, or program. On multi-user systems, each user must enter his or her password before the computer will respond to commands. The password helps ensure that unauthorized users do not access the computer. In addition, data files and programs may require a password. Ideally, the password should be something that nobody could guess. In practice, most people choose a password that is easy to remember, such as their name or their initials. This is one reason it is relatively easy to break into most computer systems.

(To) Pave the way: Aprire la via, spianare la strada.
To prepare for or make possible.

Pay off: Recupero, reintegrazione del capitale.
The payment in full of an existing loan. Often payoff means paid in full before the due date. A bribe, a gratuity or a gift.

Payment switch: A network service that authorizes and executes digital payment orders over the Internet which are backed by external accounts. The switch creates digital representations of conventional negotiable instruments (e.g. checks, drafts, notes, bonds) and forwards them to conventional financial institutions. The payment switch uses "payment URL" to enable purchases over the World Wide Web. Once payment is assured, the switch sends an "access URL" to the buyer that confirms the purchase of an item to be delivered off-line or enables the delivery of an online product or service.

Payment URL: A URL used by a payment switch that specifies a merchant, the name of merchant's payment switch, the URL of the product being bought if it is a product which can be delivered online, the price, the expiration date of the price/offer, and the digital signature of the payment URL derived from the merchant's private key. The switch combines the payment URL with the encrypted buyer identification and password or passwords. After authentication of the buyer and the merchant, the switch authorizes payment by the buyer designated financial institution.

Pay-per-view: The ability to pay, typically in very small amounts or micro-payments for information or entertainment received over the Internet or the Web. The term implies that each payment is automatic and that requesting the information provides agreement to pay for it.

Payroll: Ruolo paga.
The list of employees in a company, i.e., the employees who are paid by the company. When a person is employed by a company, that person may say he or she is on the payroll.

PDF (Portable Document Format): Adobe Systems' PDF file format delivers print-quality documents in downloadable form. Although PDF is a proprietary format, it is the de facto standard for delivering documents in which formatting is essential, such as business forms and schematics.

Peer: Pari, nobile.
A member of the nobility, especially in Britain; an equal, as in being tried by a jury of one's peers.

Pentium: A high-speed processor that followed the 486 processors of Intel. The Pentium runs much faster than the 486 in most instances and is a better alternative for graphics, audio, and video processing. It is also better suited to newer operating systems such as Windows 2000. Early versions tended to overheat and had an unknown life and reliability.

People: Gente, persone, popolo.
The general public or the electorate in a state; the masses; the body that in theory holds the ultimate power in democratic societies, whose will should be expressed by government.

People's democracy: Democrazia popolare.
The term used by communist governments to describe their political system, which does not resemble Western democratic systems.

(To) Perform: Eseguire, compiere, fare, effettuare.
To do, carry out a piece of work, duty, etc. especially according to a usual or established method.

Peripheral: Periferica.
Any external device attached to a computer. Examples of peripherals include printers, disk drivers, display monitors, keyboards, and mice.

Permanent record: Archivio.
Something that provides information lasting or intending to last for a long time or for ever.

Permission based marketing: The sending of multiple marketing messages, typically e-mail messages, to individuals who have given the marketer permission to send the messages to the individual. The messages are often embedded in free e-mail newsletters that provide news and information.

Personal details: Informazioni personali.
They include full name, address and telephone number. Date of birth. Nationality, and if a foreign national whether you would need a work permit. You may wish to include gender (particularly if you have an unusual or unisex name).

Personnel: Personale, reparto personale.
The people resources of a business. Sometimes, the staff function that is responsible for the people interests in a business.

(To) Persuade: Persuadere.
To make someone willing to do something by reasoning, arguing, repeatedly asking, etc.

(To) Pertain: Riguardare.
To have a connection with; concern.

Petitions: Petizioni.
The right of petition is the right which every citizen of the European Union enjoys, individually or in association with other citizens, to submit a request to the European Parliament or to table a grievance before it on any subject which falls within the spheres of activity of the Community and concerns him or her directly.

Petty cash: Piccola cassa.
Amounts of money (paper money and coins) kept on the business premises for payment of small incidental expenses.

(To) Pick up: Afferrare, cogliere.
To come to have, gain, buy learn, etc.; acquire.

Pillars of the European Union: Pilastri dell'Unione Europea.
These are: the Community dimension, i.e. Union citizenship, Community policies, Economic and Monetary Union, etc. (first pillar); the common foreign and security policy, (second pillar); police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters, (third pillar). The Treaty of Amsterdam has transferred some of the fields covered by the old third pillar to the first pillar (free movement of persons).

Pixel: The rectangular "dots" that comprise the smallest units of screen color variations. The more pixels that the computer can display per square inch of screen, the higher the resolution of graphics images on the screen. Higher resolutions such as those in Super VGA make it harder to detect pixels without zooming enlargements of parts of the screen.

Plant: Impianto, stabilimento.
An asset consisting of land, buildings, machinery, natural resources and furniture used for the manufacture of goods; a FACTORY. In a limited sense, plant is used for only the land and buildings or for description of all fixed assets.

Pledge: Pegno, costituzione in pegno.
The transfer or delivery of property to a lender to be held as security for repayment of a debt. A legal promise that the property title can be transferred to the lender if the debt is not repaid.

Pliable: Docile, flessibile, pieghevole.
Able and willing to change or to accept new ways and ideas; adaptable.

Plug & play: A phase that can have a variety of meanings in different contexts. In the most general sense, it means ease of set-up and operation such as when a device can simply be plugged into power and run with ease. In the area of PCMCIA cards, the term means that cards can be removed and replaced with other cards without having to reboot the system.

Plug: An add-on application for an Internet browser, which extends its capabilities. Plug-ins are available which allow you to view video-clips, display virtual reality landscapes, or listen to real-time streaming audio.

Plug-in: Programma ausiliario.
Software that runs on a client processor and in conjunction with a Web browser to provide specialized manipulation of data obtained over the network. Plug-ins and ActiveX components have the advantages over Java applets that they run faster and don't have to be downloaded because they already exist on the client machine.

Plurality rule: Sistema elettorale maggioritario.
A method of identifying the winning candidate in an election. A plurality of votes is the total vote received by a candidate greater than that received by any opponent but often less than a 50 percent majority of the vote. That is, if one candidate receives 30 percent of the votes, a second candidate also receives 30 percent, and a third receives 40 percent, the third candidate has a plurality of the votes and wins the election.

Pocket veto: The process by which the U.S. president may veto a bill by not signing it. A bill normally becomes law ten days (excluding Sundays) after it is submitted to the president for signature, if Congress is still in session. If Congress adjourns within that ten-day period, without the president having signed the bill, the bill is killed. A pocket veto cannot be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the Senate, as is the case with other presidential vetoes.

Pointing Device: Dispositivo puntatore.
An input device you use to move the pointer on the screen, choose commands, press buttons, select text, create drawings, and so on. A mouse in a pointing device.

Policy: Politica.
The whole proposals, initiatives and legislation intended to achieve EC aims in specific fields of activity.

Political agenda of the European Union: Programma politico dell'Unione Europea.
In practical terms this means: adjusting the Treaty on European Union; making the transition to a single currency in line with the agreed timetable and conditions; repairing for and carrying out the enlargement negotiations; adopting the financial perspective for the period beyond 31 December 1999; contributing to establishing the new European security architecture; actively continuing the policy of dialogue, co-operation and association already under way with the Union's neighbouring countries.

Political Committee: Comitato politico.
It consists of political directors from the Member States' foreign ministries. It monitors the international situation in fields covered by the common foreign and security policy and helps determine policy by issuing opinions for the Council. It also supervises the implementation of agreed policies, without prejudice to the powers of the presidency and the Commission.

Political party: Partito politico.
A political organization that puts up candidates at elections who support the party's policies and attempts to win power so that it can put its policies into operation.

Politician: Uomo politico.
A person who participates directly in politics (usually party politics) as candidate for or holder of public office. Politicians often rate low in public esteem, as lacking integrity ("they'll promise anything to get elected"), but many politicians would say this is an unfair characterization of them. They would point out that many of them are motivated by a genuine desire for public service, and that they have to work in an imperfect system that demands flexibility and a willingness to compromise if anything is to be accomplished.

Politics: Politica.
The process of government; the study of government.

(To) Pop up: Given a stack of items, popping one of the items means to pull it off the stack. Although originally coined to describe manipulation of data stacks, the term is often used in connection with display window. When two or more windows overlap, you can pop one of them so that it is the topmost window.

Port: Porta.
A connection for sending data into or out of a PC. Most printers, for example, plug into a computer's parallel port. Also used to denote an address reserved for a particular use on an Internet server.

Portal: Portale.
A Web site or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and on-line shopping malls. The first Web portals were online services, such as AOL, that provided access to the Web, but by now most of the traditional search engines have transformed themselves into Web portals to attract and keep a larger audience.

Portal: Portale.
A Web site that provides at least three essential functions: a search engine, web-based e-mail, and personalized news. A portal is intended to be the site its users first connect to whenever they log onto the Internet. It attracts users by providing personalized and customized services and providing search and directory services which are frequently used to find and access other sites. Some portals are provided to their customers by Internet Service Providers to make their service more competitive. Most portals gain revenue by selling advertising space on their sites.

(To) Portray: Descrivere, rappresentare.
To be or make a representation or description of; to describe according to one's opinion.

Position: Posto di lavoro.
A job, employment.

Positioning: Posizionamento.
Location of a brand or product in consumers' minds relative to competitive products.

(To) Practice: Esercitarsi, allenarsi, fare pratica.
To do an action or perform regularly or repeatedly in order to gain skill; to make a continuous use of.

Pragmatic: Pragmatico.
Dealing with things in a practical, "whatever works" manner, rather than relying on ideology or other theoretical considerations.

Preamble: Preambolo.
An introduction to a law or constitution that describes its purpose.

Preamble: Preambolo.
The opening sentences of a EC treaty, which outlines the aims and main themes of the treaty.

Prediction: Predizione.
Seeing or describing a future happening in advance as a result of knowledge, experiment, thought, etc.

Preface: Prefazione.
It is a brief statement - two or three paragraphs - that explains: the purpose of the report, the scope of the contents, any acknowledgement of help with content.

Preferred stock: Azioni privilegiate.
If you own this higher class of stock, you get your dividends before common stockholders. If the company folds, you also get assets before common stockholders do. The one thing you usually don't have is voting rights.

Preliminary portion: Sezione iniziale di una relazione.
It is the part of a report containing title page, abstract, preface, table of contents and list of illustrations.

Prepayment penalty: Penale per estinzione anticipata.
An extra charge required if a loan is paid in full before the due date. Sometimes a penalty may apply to a partial payment made before the due date for the partial payment.

Presentation: Presentazione.
A talk, usually to a group of people, in which information is given.

Presidency of the Union: Presidenza dell'Unione.
It is held in turn on a six-monthly basis by each Member State. A stint in the Presidency is a duty and a contribution that each Member State makes to the proper functioning of the Community institutions. At present, a Member State holds the Presidency every seven and a half years.

President of the European Commission: Presidente della Commissione Europea.
The Treaty of Amsterdam strengthens the role and position of the Commission President. The governments of the Member States designate the person they intend to appoint as President by common accord - a choice which then has to be approved by the European Parliament. The governments then designate the persons they intend to appoint as Members of the Commission, in agreement with the new President. The President lays down the broad policy lines to be followed by the Commission in its work. He also decides on the allocation of portfolios among the Commissioners.

President: Presidente.
The chief executive and head of state in a republic; an officer who presides over a legislative body. For example, the Vice-President of the U.S. is also the president of the Senate.

(To) Press: Spingere, premere.
To push something small firmly and steadily; to urge strongly.

Pressure group: Gruppo di pressione.
The same as interest group: an organized lobby, not directly affiliated with a political party, that puts pressure on elected officials to further the interests of its members. See also interest group; lobby.

Primary commodities: Materiali di base, materiali primari.
Raw materials; commodities in the unprocessed state, such as iron ore and grain.

Primary elections: Elezioni primarie.
Elections held to nominate a candidate for a particular party at a forthcoming election for public office. Voters may only vote in the primary held by his own party (except in the case of a "crossover" primary.) Primaries developed in the early twentieth century as a way of making the selection of candidates more democratic, rather than relying on the judgments of party leaders.

Prime minister: Primo ministro.
The leader of the government and head of the cabinet in parliamentary systems. The prime minister is also the leader of his political party.

Prime rate: Tasso primario.
Interest rate banks charge their most credit-worthy commercial customers for loans. Often given to large corporations.

Prime time: Fascia oraria di massimo ascolto.
The time when most people are thought to watch television, thus more expensive for advertiser.

Principal: Capitale, somma capitale.
In general, the owner of a privately held business or the major party, buyer or seller in a transaction. In finance, the basic amount invested in a security, exclusive of earnings or interest. A deposit on which interest is either earned or owed. The face amount of a debt instrument. The balance of an obligation, separate from interest.

Private label card: Fidelity card, carta fedeltà.
A credit card carrying the name of a retailer but actually issued and managed by a third party processor.

Pro forma income statement: Rendiconto pro forma, rendiconto simulato.
A statement of revenue and expenses that includes some hypothetical values. It shows what could be expected to happen if a corporation decided to go through with a take-over.

Pro forma: Preliminary documents of account, indicating various charges and conditions; or a prescribed form or procedure.

(To) Process: Trattare, elaborare, sviluppare.
To treat and prepare by a particular process; to put information, numbers, etc. into a computer for examination; to examine or deal with, especially by means of an established system or process.

Producer: Produttore.
A manufacturer; a person or company that works to produce goods (new products) from raw materials and articles purchased from others. As opposed to wholesaler, retailer or consumer.

Product Liability: Responsabilità del prodotto.
Controlled by a 1988 directive imposing strong conditions on manufacturers for defects in their products which cause damage to purchasers and consumers.

Production Quotas: Quote di produzione.
Limited imposed by the Commission on national and enterprise coal and steel production.

Production: Produzione.
The creation of economic value, particularly goods and services for sale to others; to manufacture a product.

Productivity: Produttività.
Productivity measures how much work you get done in a given period of time.

Profiling: Disegnare il profilo.
Collecting and analyzing information that individuals have provided about themselves and information about their online behavior (e.g. sites visited and content viewed), for the purpose of targeting marketing campaigns.

Profit margin: Margine di profitto.
A good measure of a company's efficiency, this essentially tells you how much the company makes off sales after expenses are paid. Generally, the higher the profit margin, the more efficient the company. Net profit margin is net income divided by net sales. Gross profit margin is gross profit divided by net sales.

Profit: Profitto.
In a financial situation, a positive sum after expenses are deducted from income of a business as shown on an income statement; the monetary gain obtained from the use of capital in a transaction; the proceeds from property or investment; the opposite of a loss.

Profit-sharing plan: Piano di compartecipazione agli utili.
If your company's doing well, this is one great perk. The company gives employees bonuses tied to the amount of profit it makes.

(To) Proof-reading: Correggere le bozze.
Read and correct a draft of a written text.

Proportional representation: Sistema elettorale proporzionale.
An electoral system that awards seats in a legislature on the basis of percentages of the vote won, not on the "first past the post," winner-takes-all system that operates in the U.S. In other words, if a party polls a certain percentage of the vote, they are guaranteed the same percentage of seats in the legislature. Advocates of proportional representation, which operates in some European countries, say it is a fairer system than winner-takes-all, because in the latter system a party can win a considerable number of votes and get only a paltry number of seats for their efforts. Opponents of proportional representation say it makes for weak, minority government. So many parties are represented that no single party has an overall majority, so governments tend to be made up of coalitions of many parties, which undermines their capacity for decisive, unified action and firm leadership.

Proposition: Affermazione, asserzione, giudizio.
An unproved statement in which opinion or judgement is expressed; a suggested business offer, arrangement or settlement.

Proprietorship: Impresa individuale, proprietà.
The most common legal form of business ownership; about 85 percent of all small businesses are proprietorships. The liability of the owner is unlimited in this form of ownership.

Protocol: Protocollo.
(1) An additional element of a EU treaty, providing details on the implementation of treaty requirements, or those which are too lengthy for inclusion in the treaty proper.
(2) Rules for communicating, particularly for the format and transmission of data.

Provision: Misura.
The objectives and contents of a EU treaty.

Proxemics: Prossemica.
It refers to man's use of personal space. It also refers to physical and personal territory and the way people use and perceive them.

Public opinion: Opinione pubblica.
A generally held attitude toward a particular issue in a community, as in public opinion favored a reform of the health care system. Public opinion, which can be evaluated through public opinion polls, acts as a check on what it is possible for a government to do. For example, public opinion is strongly opposed to the sending of American ground troops to Bosnia, which is one reason such an option has not been seriously considered. The problem with public opinion is that on some issues it can be easily manipulated by the mass media.

Public-key Encryption: This popular form of Internet-based encryption includes two elements: a public key and a private key. An individual creates a public key and sends it to people with whom they exchange e-mail. Recipients then use this public key to create coded message for the sender. When someone receives a message encrypted with their public key, they use a secret private key to decode the message.

Purchase: Acquisto.
The act of buying; an article that has just been bought.

(To) Purchase: Acquistare.
To obtain goods or services in exchange for money; to procure; to buy; to acquire products or services not available within the business.

Purchase order: Ordinazione di acquisto.
A written authorization prepared by a buyer for the acquisition of goods or services at a specified price. Once accepted by the seller, the purchase order becomes a legally binding purchase contract. A purchase order describes the features or characteristics of a product or service important to its purchase.

Purpose: Scopo.
An intention or plan; a person reason's for an action; aim.

(To) Put across: Comunicare, convogliare, trasmettere.
To cause one's feelings, ideas, etc., to be understood especially by listeners; communicate; make someone believe something.

(To) Put forth: Produrre, fare.
To produce and send out.

(To) Put through: Dare la comunicazione con, passare.
To connect, a telephone caller, by telephone; to make a telephone call.

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