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"avenue" in seven languages

Meaningavenue

Spanish

avenida

/abeˈnida/

fem.inherited

Participle of avenir 'to come together'; the 'boulevard' sense followed French avenue.

French

avenue

/avny/

fem.inherited

Past participle of Old French avenir 'to arrive'.

Italian

viale

/viˈale/

masc.other source · via 'road' (Latin VIAM) + -ale

The main street of a town is often the corso.

Portuguese

avenida

/aveˈnidɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

bulevard

/buleˈvard/

neut.other source · French boulevard (from Middle Dutch bolwerk 'rampart')

Catalan

avinguda

/əbiŋˈɡudə/

fem.inherited

The participle of avenir, like Spanish avenida.

English

avenue

/ˈævənu/

from Latin/French · French avenue

English → ItalianavenuevialeNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: adventure, advent, venue.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

ADVENĪRE‘to come to, arrive’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

An avenue was 'the way of arrival', the approach to a house. Spanish voices the t (avenida) and says the v as b; Italian prefers its own tree-lined viale.

English relatives: adventure, advent, venue

Sound laws at work

B and V merge in SpanishVoiceless stops between vowels soften

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esEl hotel está en la avenida principal.
  • frL'hôtel est sur l'avenue principale.
  • itL'albergo è sul viale principale.
  • ptO hotel fica na avenida principal.
  • roHotelul e pe bulevardul principal.
  • caL'hotel és a l'avinguda principal.
  • enThe hotel is on the main avenue.

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