"care (looking after)" in seven languages
Meaningcare (looking after)
Spanish
/kwiˈdado/
masc.other source · Latin COGITĀTUM 'a thought'
Also the warning ¡cuidado! 'careful!'.
French
/swɛ̃/
masc.other source · probably Frankish *sunni 'care, concern'
Prendre soin de 'to take care of'; les soins is medical care.
Italian
/ˈkura/
fem.inherited
Also 'treatment': prendersi cura di 'to look after'.
Portuguese
/kujˈdadu/
masc.other source · Latin COGITĀTUM 'a thought'
Romanian
/ˈɡriʒə/
fem.other source · Bulgarian griža 'care, worry'
Ai grijă! 'Take care!'
Catalan
/ˈkuɾə/
fem.inherited
Tenir cura de 'to take care of'.
English
/kɛɹ/
native English · Old English caru 'sorrow, concern'
Cure and curious come from CŪRA; care itself is a native word.
The Latin ancestor
CŪRAM‘care, concern’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and Portuguese care is a 'thought' (COGITĀTUM, as in cogitate) worn down to cuidado; Italian and Catalan kept Latin CŪRA, which English knows only as cure. French soin is Germanic.
English relatives: cure, curious, accurate, curator
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLas plantas necesitan muchos cuidados.
- frLes plantes demandent beaucoup de soin.
- itLe piante hanno bisogno di molta cura.
- ptAs plantas precisam de muito cuidado.
- roPlantele au nevoie de multă grijă.
- caLes plantes necessiten molta cura.
- enPlants need a lot of care.