"child" in seven languages
Meaningchild
Spanish
/ˈniɲo/
masc.other source · a nursery word (expressive *ninno)
A girl is una niña.
French
/ɑ̃fɑ̃/
masc.inherited
Either gender: un enfant, une enfant.
Italian
/bamˈbino/
masc.other source · Italian bambo 'simple, childish', an expressive word
A girl is una bambina.
Portuguese
/kɾiˈɐ̃sɐ/
fem.other source · Portuguese criar 'to bring up', from Latin CREĀRE
Always feminine, even for a boy: ele é uma criança.
Romanian
/koˈpil/
masc.other source · of uncertain origin (shared with Albanian kopil; probably pre-Roman)
Catalan
/nɛn/
masc.other source · a nursery word (expressive nin-, like Spanish niño)
Infant (from INFANTEM) also exists, in a more formal register.
English
/tʃaɪld/
native English · Old English cild
plural: children
The Latin ancestor
INFANTEM‘one who cannot speak; infant’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French kept INFANTEM, 'one who cannot yet speak'. In Spanish infante and Italian fante it drifted to princes and foot soldiers (hence infantry), and everyday speech coined baby-talk words: niño, bambino.
English relatives: infant, infantry
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLos niños juegan en el parque.
- frLes enfants jouent dans le parc.
- itI bambini giocano nel parco.
- ptAs crianças estão brincando no parque.
- roCopiii se joacă în parc.
- caEls nens juguen al parc.
- enThe children are playing in the park.