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"clock" in seven languages

Meaningclock

Spanish

reloj

/reˈlox/

masc.borrowed · Old Catalan relotge

Also 'watch': reloj de pulsera.

French

horloge

/ɔʁlɔʒ/

fem.inherited

A wristwatch is une montre.

Italian

orologio

/oroˈlɔdʒo/

masc.learned

Also 'watch'. It keeps every syllable of the Latin; old Tuscan also had a worn-down oriuolo.

Portuguese

relógio

/heˈlɔʒju/

masc.borrowed · probably Old Catalan relotge, reshaped on Latin HŌROLOGIUM

Romanian

ceas

/tʃas/

neut.other source · Slavic čas 'hour' (Old Church Slavonic časŭ)

Ceas is also 'hour' and 'watch'.

Catalan

rellotge

/rəˈʎɔdʒə/

masc.inherited

Spanish reloj was borrowed from Old Catalan relotge.

English

clock

/klɑk/

other source · Middle Dutch clocke 'bell' (Medieval Latin clocca)

English → ItalianclockorologioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: horology, hour, horoscope.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

HŌROLOGIUM‘sundial, water clock (Greek hōrológion 'hour-teller')’

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

The story

The sisters' clock is an 'hour-teller'; English clock was a 'bell' that struck the hours. Spanish reloj came through Catalan, which explains the r-.

English relatives: horology, hour, horoscope

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In a sentence

  • esEl reloj de la cocina va atrasado.
  • frL'horloge de la cuisine retarde.
  • itL'orologio della cucina è indietro.
  • ptO relógio da cozinha está atrasado.
  • roCeasul din bucătărie rămâne în urmă.
  • caEl rellotge de la cuina va endarrerit.
  • enThe kitchen clock is slow.

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