"thing" in sette lingue
Significatothing
Spagnolo
/ˈkosa/
f.ereditaria
Francese
/ʃoz/
f.ereditaria
Italiano
/ˈkɔsa/
f.ereditaria
Portoghese
/ˈkojzɐ/
f.ereditaria
AU became ou/oi in Portuguese: CAUSAM → cousa, now coisa.
Rumeno
/ˈlukru/
neutroaltra origine · Latin LUCRUM 'gain, profit'
plurale: lucruri
CAUSA survives in Romanian only as learned cauză 'cause'.
Catalano
/ˈkɔzə/
f.ereditaria
Inglese
/θɪŋ/
inglese nativa · Old English þing
L’antenato latino
CAUSAM‘cause; legal case, matter’
Tutte e sei le sorelle discendono da questa parola, salvo diversa indicazione qui sotto.
La storia
A legal 'case' became any 'thing'. AU shrank to o everywhere and French turned ca- into cha- → cho-. The learned doublet causa / cause / causa kept the old meaning — and English 'because' is 'by cause'.
Parenti inglesi: cause, because, accuse
Leggi fonetiche all’opera
Imparala
In una frase
- esTengo que decirte una cosa.
- frJe dois te dire quelque chose.
- itDevo dirti una cosa.
- ptPreciso te contar uma coisa.
- roTrebuie să-ți spun ceva.
- caT'he de dir una cosa.
- enI have to tell you something.
La famiglia latina
CAUS-· cause, case
CAUSA 'reason, lawsuit' became the ordinary Romance word for 'thing': cosa, chose, cosa — a 'matter' in the legal sense, generalized. The learned doublet causa, cause kept the original meaning, and the courtroom sense lives on in accuse and excuse. Portuguese coisa (Old Portuguese cousa) and Catalan cosa followed; Romanian says lucru, from LUCRUM 'gain'.
CAUSAMcause; case → thing
escosafrchoseitcosaptcoisacacosa
CAUSAMcause (learned)
escausafrcauseitcausaptcausarocauzăcacausaencause
CAUSĀRĪ (Med. Lat. CAUSĀRE)to plead a case; to cause
escausarfrcauseritcausareptcausarrocauzacacausarencause
ACCŪSĀREto call to account
esacusarfraccuseritaccusareptacusarroacuzacaacusarenaccuse
EXCŪSĀREto free from a charge
esexcusarfrexcuseritscusareptescusarroscuzacaexcusarenexcuse