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"emergency" in seven languages

Meaningemergency

Spanish

urgencia

/uɾˈxenθja/

fem.learned

The ER is urgencias.

French

urgence

/yʁʒɑ̃s/

fem.learned

The ER is les urgences.

Italian

emergenza

/emerˈdʒɛntsa/

fem.other source · Latin EMERGERE 'to rise up' (learned)

The ER is il pronto soccorso.

Portuguese

emergência

/emehˈʒẽsjɐ/

fem.other source · Latin EMERGERE 'to rise up' (learned)

The emergency room is the pronto-socorro.

Romanian

urgență

/urˈdʒentsə/

fem.borrowed · French urgence

Catalan

urgència

/urˈʒɛnsiə/

fem.learned

English

emergency

/ɪˈmɝdʒənsi/

other source · Medieval Latin ēmergentia

English → ItalianemergencyemergenzaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: urgent, urgency; emerge (it).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

URGĒRE‘to press, push’

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

The story

Spanish and French call an emergency an 'urgency'; Italian emergenza matches English (Italian urgenza exists too, meaning urgency). Either way, the g before e is soft three ways: x, ʒ, dʒ.

English relatives: urgent, urgency; emerge (it)

Sound laws at work

Initial I- (J-) and G before E, I

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esVe a urgencias.
  • frVa aux urgences.
  • itVai al pronto soccorso.
  • ptVá para a emergência do hospital.
  • roMergi la urgențe.
  • caVes a urgències.
  • enGo to the emergency room.

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