"cave" in seven languages
Meaningcave
Spanish
/ˈkweba/
fem.inherited
French
/ɡʁɔt/
fem.other source · Italian grotta, from Latin CRYPTA
False friend: une cave is a cellar.
Italian
/ˈɡrɔtta/
fem.other source · Latin CRYPTAM 'vault, crypt'
Una cava is a quarry.
Portuguese
/ˈɡɾutɐ/
fem.other source · Italian grotta, from Latin CRYPTA
Caverna (learned) is just as common; cova is a grave.
Romanian
/ˈpeʃterə/
fem.other source · Slavic (cf. Old Church Slavonic peštera)
Catalan
/ˈkɔbə/
fem.inherited
From spoken *COVA, like Spanish cueva.
English
/keɪv/
from Latin/French · Old French cave, from Latin CAVA
The Latin ancestor
*COVAM (Classical CAVAM)‘hollow (CAVUS)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish cueva and Catalan cova come from spoken *COVA, a variant of CAVA, with Spanish breaking the open o into ue. French cave went underground as a wine cellar, and grotte came from Italy.
English relatives: cavity, concave, excavate
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esLos hombres prehistóricos pintaron las paredes de esta cueva.
- frLes hommes préhistoriques ont peint les parois de cette grotte.
- itGli uomini preistorici dipinsero le pareti di questa grotta.
- ptOs homens pré-históricos pintaram as paredes desta gruta.
- roOamenii preistorici au pictat pereții acestei peșteri.
- caEls homes prehistòrics van pintar les parets d'aquesta cova.
- enPrehistoric people painted the walls of this cave.