"bee" in seven languages
Meaningbee
Spanish
abeja
/aˈbexa/
fem.inherited
French
abeille
/abɛj/
fem.borrowed · Old Occitan abelha
The native Old French word, ef (from APEM), was too short to survive.
Italian
ape
/ˈape/
fem.other source · Latin APEM, the plain (non-diminutive) form
Portuguese
abelha
/aˈbeʎɐ/
fem.inherited
Romanian
albină
/alˈbinə/
fem.other source · of disputed origin
Catalan
abella
/əˈbeʎə/
fem.inherited
English
bee
/bi/
native English · Old English bēo
English → ItalianbeeapeNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: apiary, apiculture.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
APICULAM‘little bee (diminutive of APIS)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish kept a 'little bee' (C'L → j, as in ojo); French borrowed the same diminutive from its southern neighbour, Occitan; Italian kept plain APEM.
English relatives: apiary, apiculture
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLas abejas hacen miel.
- frLes abeilles font du miel.
- itLe api fanno il miele.
- ptAs abelhas fazem mel.
- roAlbinele fac miere.
- caLes abelles fan mel.
- enBees make honey.