"crown" in seven languages
Meaningcrown
Spanish
corona
/koˈɾona/
fem.inherited
French
couronne
/kuʁɔn/
fem.inherited
Italian
corona
/koˈrona/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
coroa
/koˈɾoɐ/
fem.inherited
Portuguese drops the -n- between vowels: CORŌNAM → coroa.
Romanian
coroană
/koˈro̯anə/
fem.borrowed · probably Slavonic korona, itself from Latin
The inherited CORŌNAM is cunună 'wreath', with r turned to n.
Catalan
corona
/kuˈɾonə/
fem.inherited
English
crown
/kɹaʊn/
from Latin/French · Anglo-French corune
English → ItaliancrowncoronaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CORŌNAM‘garland, crown’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and Italian kept CORŌNAM letter for letter; French closed the o to ou (couronne). English crown is the same word, squeezed in Anglo-Norman mouths.
English relatives: coronation, coroner, corona, corollary
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa reina llevaba una corona de oro.
- frLa reine portait une couronne en or.
- itLa regina portava una corona d'oro.
- ptA rainha usava uma coroa de ouro.
- roRegina purta o coroană de aur.
- caLa reina duia una corona d'or.
- enThe queen wore a gold crown.