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"efficiency" in seven languages

Meaningefficiency

Spanish

eficiencia

/efiˈθjenθja/

fem.learned

French

efficacité

/efikasite/

fem.other source · Latin EFFICĀCITĀTEM 'efficacy' (learned)

Efficience exists but is technical; efficacité covers both efficiency and effectiveness.

Italian

efficienza

/effiˈtʃɛntsa/

fem.learned

Portuguese

eficiência

/efisiˈẽsjɐ/

fem.learned

Romanian

eficiență

/efitʃiˈentsə/

fem.learned

Catalan

eficiència

/əfisiˈɛnsiə/

fem.learned

English

efficiency

/ɪˈfɪʃənsi/

from Latin/French · Latin EFFICIENTIA

English → ItalianefficiencyefficienzaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

EFFICIENTIAM‘power to bring about’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian follow English with the -ENTIA noun; French uses efficacité, from the sister adjective efficax, and so blurs efficiency and effectiveness.

English relatives: efficient, effect, efficacy

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In a sentence

  • esLa nueva máquina mejora la eficiencia.
  • frLa nouvelle machine améliore l'efficacité.
  • itLa nuova macchina migliora l'efficienza.
  • ptA nova máquina melhora a eficiência.
  • roNoua mașină îmbunătățește eficiența.
  • caLa nova màquina millora l'eficiència.
  • enThe new machine improves efficiency.

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