"dark (of a colour)" in seven languages
Meaningdark (of a colour)
Spanish
oscuro
/osˈkuɾo/
inherited
French
foncé
/fɔ̃se/
other source · past participle of foncer 'to darken', from fond 'bottom', from Latin FUNDUM
Obscur exists, but means 'dark' as in a dark room or an obscure idea.
Italian
scuro
/ˈskuro/
inherited
Portuguese
escuro
/isˈkuɾu/
inherited
Romanian
închis
/ɨnˈkis/
other source · past participle of închide 'to close', from Latin INCLŪDERE
Catalan
fosc
/fosk/
other source · Latin FUSCUM 'dark, dusky'
English
dark
/dɑɹk/
native English · Old English deorc
English → Italiandark (of a colour)scuroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: obscure.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
OBSCŪRUM‘dark, hidden’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Like clair, it follows the colour: verde oscuro, vert foncé, verde scuro. French colours darken toward the 'bottom' (fond).
English relatives: obscure
Learn it
In a sentence
- esPrefiero el verde oscuro.
- frJe préfère le vert foncé.
- itPreferisco il verde scuro.
- ptEu prefiro verde-escuro.
- roPrefer verdele închis.
- caPrefereixo el verd fosc.
- enI prefer dark green.