"but" in seven languages
Meaningbut
Spanish
pero
/ˈpeɾo/
other source · Latin PER HOC 'because of this'
Literary mas is the cognate of fr mais and it ma.
French
mais
/mɛ/
inherited
Italian
ma
/ma/
inherited
Italian però (from PER HOC, like Spanish pero) means 'however'.
Portuguese
mas
/mas/
inherited
Romanian
dar
/dar/
other source · of uncertain origin
Catalan
però
/pəˈɾɔ/
other source · Latin PER HOC 'because of this'
Old Catalan mas survives only in fixed phrases.
English
but
/bʌt/
native English · Old English būtan
English → ItalianbutmaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: master, magistrate (MAGISTER, 'the greater one').What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MAGIS‘more; rather’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
'But' grew out of 'rather' (MAGIS). Spanish uses PER HOC instead — the same source as Italian però 'however', a neat crossed pair.
English relatives: master, magistrate (MAGISTER, 'the greater one')
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEs pequeño pero bonito.
- frC'est petit mais joli.
- itÈ piccolo ma carino.
- ptÉ pequeno, mas bonito.
- roE mic, dar frumos.
- caÉs petit però bonic.
- enIt's small but nice.