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"advantage" in seven languages

Meaningadvantage

Spanish

ventaja

/benˈtaxa/

fem.borrowed · Old French avantage or Old Occitan avantatge

Feminine in Spanish, masculine in French and Italian.

French

avantage

/avɑ̃taʒ/

masc.inherited

Built on avant 'before, in front'.

Italian

vantaggio

/vanˈtaddʒo/

masc.borrowed · Old French avantage or Old Occitan avantatge

Portuguese

vantagem

/vɐ̃ˈtaʒẽj/

fem.borrowed · Old French avantage or Old Occitan avantatge

Feminine, like the other -agem loans (viagem, mensagem).

Romanian

avantaj

/avanˈtaʒ/

neut.borrowed · French avantage

Catalan

avantatge

/əbənˈtadʒə/

masc.inherited

Built on avant 'before' (AB ANTE) with native -atge.

English

advantage

/ədˈvæntɪdʒ/

from Latin/French · Old French avantage

The d is a false Latinism, as in advance.

English → ItalianadvantagevantaggioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

AB ANTE (+ -ĀTICUM)‘from in front’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

An advantage is 'being in front': French avant comes from AB ANTE. Spanish and Italian borrowed the word and lost its first a- (ventaja, vantaggio).

English relatives: advance, vanguard

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In a sentence

  • esHablar dos idiomas es una gran ventaja.
  • frParler deux langues est un grand avantage.
  • itParlare due lingue è un grande vantaggio.
  • ptFalar duas línguas é uma grande vantagem.
  • roSă vorbești două limbi este un mare avantaj.
  • caParlar dues llengües és un gran avantatge.
  • enSpeaking two languages is a big advantage.

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