"black" in seven languages
Meaningblack
Spanish
negro
/ˈnegɾo/
inherited
French
noir
/nwaʁ/
inherited
Italian
nero
/ˈnero/
inherited
Portuguese
preto
/ˈpɾetu/
other source · of uncertain origin
Negro exists, but preto is the everyday colour word in Brazil.
Romanian
negru
/ˈneɡru/
inherited
fem.: neagră
Catalan
negre
/ˈnɛɡɾə/
inherited
English
black
/blæk/
native English · Old English blæc
English → ItalianblackneroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: denigrate.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
NIGRUM‘(shiny) black’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin had dull ĀTER and glossy NIGER; only the glossy one survived. Spanish keeps the gr, Italian drops the g, French melts it into noir.
English relatives: denigrate
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLleva un vestido negro.
- frElle porte une robe noire.
- itIndossa un vestito nero.
- ptEla está com um vestido preto.
- roPoartă o rochie neagră.
- caPorta un vestit negre.
- enShe's wearing a black dress.