"bone" in seven languages
Meaningbone
Spanish
hueso
/ˈweso/
masc.inherited
French
os
/ɔs/
masc.inherited
Singular ɔs, plural o.
Italian
osso
/ˈɔsso/
masc.inherited
plural: ossa (f, of the skeleton) / ossi
Portuguese
osso
/ˈosu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
os
/os/
neut.inherited
plural: oase
Catalan
os
/ɔs/
masc.inherited
English
bone
/boʊn/
native English · Old English bān
English → ItalianboneossoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: ossify, ossuary.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
OSSUM (Classical OS)‘bone’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spoken Latin enlarged OS to OSSUM. Spanish broke its open o and put a silent h in front (hueso, like huevo 'egg').
English relatives: ossify, ossuary
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl perro se come un hueso.
- frLe chien mange un os.
- itIl cane mangia un osso.
- ptO cachorro está comendo um osso.
- roCâinele roade un os.
- caEl gos es menja un os.
- enThe dog is eating a bone.