"elbow" in seven languages
Meaningelbow
Spanish
codo
/ˈkodo/
masc.inherited
French
coude
/kud/
masc.inherited
Italian
gomito
/ˈɡomito/
masc.inherited
The initial g is irregular.
Portuguese
cotovelo
/kotoˈvelu/
masc.inherited
From a diminutive, *CUBITELLUM.
Romanian
cot
/kot/
neut.inherited
plural: coate
Neuter: un cot, două coate.
Catalan
colze
/ˈkolzə/
masc.inherited
English
elbow
/ˈɛlboʊ/
native English · Old English elnboga 'forearm bend'
English → ItalianelbowgomitoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cubit.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CUBITUM‘elbow; a cubit’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A cubit was the length from elbow to fingertip. CUBITUM was worn down to codo and coude (the t voiced to d), stretched to Portuguese cotovelo, and in Romanian keeps a neuter plural: un cot, două coate.
English relatives: cubit
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esNo pongas los codos en la mesa.
- frNe mets pas les coudes sur la table.
- itNon mettere i gomiti sul tavolo.
- ptNão coloque os cotovelos na mesa.
- roNu pune coatele pe masă.
- caNo posis els colzes a la taula.
- enDon't put your elbows on the table.