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"childhood" in seven languages

Meaningchildhood

Spanish

infancia

/inˈfanθja/

fem.learned

Also niñez, from niño.

French

enfance

/ɑ̃fɑ̃s/

fem.inherited

Italian

infanzia

/inˈfantsja/

fem.learned

Portuguese

infância

/ĩˈfɐ̃siɐ/

fem.learned

Romanian

copilărie

/kopiləˈrie/

fem.other source · Romanian copil 'child' (of uncertain origin)

Catalan

infància

/imˈfansiə/

fem.learned

English

childhood

/ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/

native English · Old English cildhād

English → ItalianchildhoodinfanziaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: infancy, infant, infantry.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

INFANTIAM‘inability to speak; early childhood’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

IN- 'not' + FĀRĪ 'to speak': an infant is one who cannot talk yet. Only French wore the word down (enfance, like enfant); Spanish and Italian took it back from books.

English relatives: infancy, infant, infantry

Sound laws at work

French vowel + nasal becomes a nasal vowel

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In a sentence

  • esPasé mi infancia junto al mar.
  • frJ'ai passé mon enfance au bord de la mer.
  • itHo passato l'infanzia al mare.
  • ptPassei a infância perto do mar.
  • roMi-am petrecut copilăria la mare.
  • caVaig passar la infància a la vora del mar.
  • enI spent my childhood by the sea.

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