"autumn, fall" in seven languages
Meaningautumn, fall
Spanish
otoño
/oˈtoɲo/
masc.inherited
French
automne
/otɔn/
masc.learned
A medieval borrowing from written Latin; the m is silent.
Italian
autunno
/auˈtunno/
masc.inherited
The kept au- is a learned touch, but MN was assimilated to nn.
Portuguese
outono
/oˈtõnu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
toamnă
/ˈto̯amnə/
fem.inherited
Catalan
tardor
/təɾˈdo/
fem.other source · Latin TARDŌREM 'slowness, lateness'
The 'late' season; the final -r is silent.
English
autumn
/ˈɔtəm/
from Latin/French · Old French autompne
English → Italianautumn, fallautunnoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
AUTUMNUM‘autumn’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish shows the full popular treatment: AU → o, MN → ñ. French spelled it back to Latin; Italian kept au- but assimilated MN to nn.
English relatives: autumn, autumnal
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esMe encantan los colores del otoño.
- frJ'adore les couleurs de l'automne.
- itAdoro i colori dell'autunno.
- ptAdoro as cores do outono.
- roÎmi plac mult culorile toamnei.
- caM'encanten els colors de la tardor.
- enI love autumn colours.