"book" in seven languages
Meaningbook
Spanish
libro
/ˈlibɾo/
masc.inherited
French
livre
/livʁ/
masc.inherited
La livre (feminine) is a pound — a different Latin word, LĪBRAM.
Italian
libro
/ˈlibro/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
livro
/ˈlivɾu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
carte
/ˈkarte/
fem.other source · Latin CHARTAM 'sheet of papyrus', from Greek chártēs
Romanian lost LIBER; its 'book' is the papyrus sheet, the same word as Italian carta 'paper'.
Catalan
llibre
/ˈʎibɾə/
masc.inherited
English
book
/bʊk/
native English · Old English bōc
English → ItalianbooklibroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: library, libretto.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
LIBRUM‘book; originally the inner bark of a tree, written on’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
False-friend alert: a library is es biblioteca, fr bibliothèque, it biblioteca; es librería, fr librairie and it libreria are bookshops.
English relatives: library, libretto
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEstoy leyendo un buen libro.
- frJe lis un bon livre.
- itSto leggendo un bel libro.
- ptEstou lendo um livro muito bom.
- roCitesc o carte bună.
- caEstic llegint un bon llibre.
- enI'm reading a good book.