"against" in seven languages
Meaningagainst
Spanish
contra
/ˈkontɾa/
inherited
French
contre
/kɔ̃tʁ/
inherited
Italian
contro
/ˈkontro/
inherited
Portuguese
contra
/ˈkõtɾɐ/
inherited
Romanian
contra
/ˈkontra/
learned
The native word is împotriva.
Catalan
contra
/ˈkontɾə/
inherited
English
against
/əˈɡɛnst/
native English · Old English ongēan
English → ItalianagainstcontroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: contrary, counter, contra-, encounter.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CONTRĀ‘against, opposite’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
One Latin word, three final vowels: Spanish keeps -a, French mutes it to -e, Italian shifted it to -o.
English relatives: contrary, counter, contra-, encounter
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEspaña contra Italia.
- frL'Espagne contre l'Italie.
- itLa Spagna contro l'Italia.
- ptEspanha contra Itália.
- roSpania contra Italia.
- caEspanya contra Itàlia.
- enSpain against Italy.