"attention" in seven languages
Meaningattention
Spanish
atención
/atenˈθjon/
fem.learned
French
attention
/atɑ̃sjɔ̃/
fem.learned
Attention ! on its own means 'Watch out!'
Italian
attenzione
/attenˈtsjone/
fem.learned
Portuguese
atenção
/atẽˈsɐ̃w/
fem.learned
Romanian
atenție
/aˈtentsie/
fem.learned
Catalan
atenció
/ətənˈsjo/
fem.learned
English
attention
/əˈtɛnʃən/
from Latin/French · French attention / Latin ATTENTIŌ
English → ItalianattentionattenzioneCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ATTENTIŌNEM‘a stretching towards (AD + TENDERE)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Attention is the mind 'stretched towards' something. Each language uses its own verb with it: Spanish prestar 'lend', French and Italian faire / fare 'make', English 'pay'.
English relatives: attend, attentive, tend, tension
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- es¡Presta atención!
- frFais attention !
- itFai attenzione!
- ptPreste atenção!
- roFii atent!
- caPara atenció!
- enPay attention!