« to wait » en sept langues
Sensto wait
Espagnol
/espeˈɾaɾ/
héréditaire
Also 'to hope' and 'to expect' — context decides.
Français
/atɑ̃dʁ/
autre source · Latin ATTENDERE 'to stretch toward, pay heed'
Italien
/aspetˈtare/
autre source · Latin EXSPECTĀRE 'to look out for'
Portugais
/espeˈɾah/
héréditaire
Roumain
/aʃtepˈta/
autre source · Latin EXSPECTĀRE 'to look out for'
Same source as Italian aspettare, with Romanian -CT- → -pt-.
Catalan
/əspəˈɾa/
héréditaire
Anglais
/weɪt/
autre source · Old North French waitier (Frankish *wahtōn 'to watch')
Attention : faux amis
atender (Espagnol) signifie « to attend to, serve » · attendre (Français) signifie « to wait (for) »
Both from Latin ATTENDERE 'to stretch toward, pay attention'. French went from 'paying attention to' to 'waiting for'; Spanish kept the attention.
L’ancêtre latin
SPĒRĀRE‘to hope’
Les six sœurs en descendent, sauf indication contraire ci-dessous.
L’histoire
Three ways to wait: Spanish hopes, French attends, Italian looks out. False friend: French attendre is 'to wait', not 'to attend'.
Parents anglais: despair, desperate (SPĒRĀRE); attend (ATTENDERE); expect (EXSPECTĀRE)
Lois phonétiques à l’œuvre
L’apprendre
Dans une phrase
- es¡Espérame!
- frAttends-moi !
- itAspettami!
- ptMe espera!
- roAșteaptă-mă!
- caEspera'm!
- enWait for me!