"among" in seven languages
Meaningamong
Spanish
/ˈentɾe/
inherited
Covers both 'between' and 'among'.
French
/paʁmi/
other source · Old French par mi 'through the middle' (Latin PER MEDIUM)
Entre is 'between'; parmi is 'among'.
Italian
/tra/
other source · Latin INTRĀ 'within'
Interchangeable with fra; covers both 'between' and 'among'.
Portuguese
/ˈẽtɾi/
inherited
Romanian
/ˈprintre/
other source · prin 'through' + între 'between' (Latin INTER)
Catalan
/ˈentɾə/
inherited
English
/əˈmʌŋ/
native English · Old English on gemang 'in the crowd'
The Latin ancestor
INTER‘between, among’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish entre keeps INTER for both senses. French split them: entre for 'between', parmi ('through the middle') for 'among'. Italian tra comes from INTRĀ 'within'.
English relatives: inter-, interval, international
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEstaba entre los invitados.
- frElle était parmi les invités.
- itEra tra gli invitati.
- ptEla estava entre os convidados.
- roEra printre invitați.
- caEra entre els convidats.
- enShe was among the guests.