"absence" in seven languages
Meaningabsence
Spanish
ausencia
/awˈsenθja/
fem.learned
Old Spanish turned the b of abs- into u, so the learned word looks worn.
French
absence
/apsɑ̃s/
fem.learned
Italian
assenza
/asˈsɛntsa/
fem.learned
Portuguese
ausência
/awˈzẽsjɐ/
fem.learned
Romanian
absență
/abˈsentsə/
fem.learned
Catalan
absència
/əpˈsɛnsiə/
fem.learned
English
absence
/ˈæbsəns/
from Latin/French · Old French absence, from Latin
English → ItalianabsenceassenzaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ABSENTIAM‘being away (ABESSE 'to be away')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
From AB 'away' + ESSE 'to be'. Italian assimilates bs to ss (assenza) and Spanish vocalized the b (ausencia), so only French keeps the Latin spelling.
English relatives: absent, absentee
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNadie notó su ausencia.
- frPersonne n'a remarqué son absence.
- itNessuno ha notato la sua assenza.
- ptNinguém notou a ausência dele.
- roNimeni nu i-a observat absența.
- caNingú no va notar la seva absència.
- enNobody noticed his absence.
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