"cousin" in seven languages
Meaningcousin
Spanish
/ˈpɾimo/
masc.other source · Latin PRĪMUM 'first' (from primo hermano 'first-degree brother')
French
/kuzɛ̃/
masc.inherited
Italian
/kuˈdʒino/
masc.borrowed · Old French cosin
Portuguese
/ˈpɾimu/
masc.other source · Latin PRĪMUM 'first' (short for 'first-degree brother')
Romanian
/vər/
masc.other source · Latin VĒRUM 'true' (as in a 'true', full cousin)
plural: veri
Catalan
/kuˈzi/
masc.borrowed · Old French or Occitan cosin
English
/ˈkʌzən/
from Latin/French · Old French cosin
Watch out: false friends
primo (Italian) means “first” · primo (Spanish) means “cousin”
Both from Latin PRĪMUM 'first'. Spanish primo is short for primo hermano, from CONSOBRĪNUS PRĪMUS 'first cousin'.
The Latin ancestor
CONSOBRĪNUM‘cousin (on the mother's side)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French wore CONSOBRĪNUS down to cousin, and Italian borrowed it in the Middle Ages. Spanish calls a cousin primo, short for primo hermano, 'first-degree brother'.
English relatives: cousin
Learn it
In a sentence
- esMis primos vienen por Navidad.
- frMes cousins viennent pour Noël.
- itI miei cugini vengono per Natale.
- ptMeus primos vêm para o Natal.
- roVerii mei vin de Crăciun.
- caEls meus cosins vénen per Nadal.
- enMy cousins are coming for Christmas.