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"discount (price reduction)" in seven languages

Meaningdiscount (price reduction)

Spanish

descuento

/desˈkwento/

masc.inherited

Built on descontar, des- + contar 'to count'.

French

remise

/ʁəmiz/

fem.other source · French remettre 'to hand over, let off', from Latin REMITTERE

Réduction and rabais are also common; un discount is a cut-price shop.

Italian

sconto

/ˈskonto/

masc.inherited

uno sconto (s + consonant) · Built on scontare, s- + contare 'to count'.

Portuguese

desconto

/dʒisˈkõtu/

masc.inherited

Romanian

reducere

/reˈdutʃere/

fem.other source · reduce, from Latin REDŪCERE 'to bring back' (learned)

Catalan

descompte

/dəsˈkomtə/

masc.inherited

English

discount

/ˈdɪskaʊnt/

from Latin/French · Old French desconte, from Medieval Latin DISCOMPUTĀRE

English → Italiandiscount (price reduction)scontoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

COMPUTĀRE (with DIS-)‘to reckon, count (off)’

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

The story

A discount is a sum 'counted off': COMPUTĀRE wore down to contar/conter/contare and English count. Spanish shows its ue diphthong under stress (descuento), while French prefers remise, 'something let off'.

English relatives: count, account, compute

Sound laws at work

Stressed short O breaks into ue / uo / eu

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • es¿Me puede hacer un descuento?
  • frVous pouvez me faire une remise ?
  • itMi può fare uno sconto?
  • ptVocê pode me dar um desconto?
  • roÎmi puteți face o reducere?
  • caEm pot fer un descompte?
  • enCan you give me a discount?

More in Work & money

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