"cricket (insect)" in seven languages
Meaningcricket (insect)
Spanish
grillo
/ˈgɾiʝo/
masc.inherited
French
grillon
/gʁijɔ̃/
masc.inherited
A diminutive of Old French grille.
Italian
grillo
/ˈgrillo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
grilo
/ˈɡɾilu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
greier
/ˈɡrejer/
masc.inherited
Dictionaries trace it to GRYLLUM, though the ending is not fully explained.
Catalan
grill
/ɡɾiʎ/
masc.inherited
English
cricket
/ˈkɹɪkɪt/
other source · Old French criquet (imitative, from criquer 'to creak')
English → Italiancricket (insect)grilloNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
GRYLLUM‘cricket (Greek grýllos)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
All three kept Latin GRYLLUS, itself an imitation of the chirp, like English cricket. Spanish ll is now said like y; Italian keeps a real double l.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esPor la noche se oyen los grillos.
- frLa nuit, on entend les grillons.
- itDi notte si sentono i grilli.
- ptÀ noite dá para ouvir os grilos.
- roNoaptea se aud greierii.
- caA la nit se senten els grills.
- enYou can hear the crickets at night.