"arm" in seven languages
Meaningarm
Spanish
brazo
/ˈbɾaθo/
masc.inherited
French
bras
/bʁa/
masc.inherited
Italian
braccio
/ˈbrattʃo/
masc.inherited
plural: braccia (f)
Portuguese
braço
/ˈbɾasu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
braț
/brats/
neut.inherited
plural: brațe
Catalan
braç
/bɾas/
masc.inherited
English
arm
/ɑɹm/
native English · Old English earm
English → ItalianarmbraccioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: bracelet, embrace, brace.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
BRACCHIUM‘arm, forearm’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A clean triplet: the -CCHI- of BRACCHIUM became Spanish θ, French s (now silent), Italian ttʃ. To embrace is to take in your arms. Italian keeps a Latin neuter plural for the body: le braccia.
English relatives: bracelet, embrace, brace
Learn it
In a sentence
- esSe rompió el brazo.
- frElle s'est cassé le bras.
- itSi è rotta il braccio.
- ptEla quebrou o braço.
- roȘi-a rupt brațul.
- caS'ha trencat el braç.
- enShe broke her arm.