"car" in seven languages
Meaningcar
Spanish
/ˈkotʃe/
masc.other source · Hungarian kocsi '(carriage) from Kocs', via German or French
Spain's word; Latin America says carro or auto.
French
/vwatyʁ/
fem.inherited
Italian
/ˈmakkina/
fem.other source · Latin MĀCHINAM 'contrivance' (Greek mēkhanḗ), short for macchina automobile
Also auto (f) and automobile.
Portuguese
/ˈkahu/
masc.other source · Latin CARRUM 'cart' (a Gaulish word)
Latin American Spanish carro is the same word; Portugal also says carro.
Romanian
/maˈʃinə/
fem.other source · French machine (Latin MĀCHINAM)
Like Italian macchina, 'the machine' became the car.
Catalan
/ˈkɔtʃə/
masc.other source · Hungarian kocsi '(carriage) from Kocs', via Spanish or French
English
/kɑɹ/
other source · Anglo-Norman carre, from Latin CARRUM (of Gaulish origin)
The Latin ancestor
VECTŪRAM‘transport, carriage (from VEHERE 'to carry')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Three unrelated words: French 'conveyance', Italian 'the machine', and Spanish 'the coach' — named after the Hungarian village of Kocs, famous for its carriages.
English relatives: vector, vehicle (VEHERE); machine (MĀCHINA)
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In a sentence
- esVamos en coche.
- frOn y va en voiture.
- itAndiamo in macchina.
- ptA gente vai de carro.
- roMergem cu mașina.
- caHi anirem amb cotxe.
- enWe'll go by car.