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"engineer" in seven languages

Meaningengineer

Spanish

ingeniero

/inxeˈnjeɾo/

masc.learned

fem.: ingeniera

French

ingénieur

/ɛ̃ʒenjœʁ/

masc.learned

Remade on Latin INGENIUM from Old French engigneor 'builder of war machines'.

Italian

ingegnere

/indʒeɲˈɲɛre/

masc.inherited

Built on inherited ingegno 'wit, talent'.

Portuguese

engenheiro

/ẽʒeˈɲejɾu/

masc.inherited

Romanian

inginer

/indʒiˈner/

masc.borrowed · French ingénieur / Italian ingegnere

Catalan

enginyer

/ənʒiˈɲe/

masc.inherited

English

engineer

/ɛndʒəˈnɪɹ/

from Latin/French · Old French engigneor

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

The Latin ancestor

INGENIUM‘innate talent, cleverness; a clever device’

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

The story

An engineer is a person of ingenium — and the first 'engines' were siege machines. Italian ingegno shows the inherited NG + E → gn; Spanish ingenio keeps the learned shape.

English relatives: engineer, engine, ingenious

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In a sentence

  • esMi hermana es ingeniera.
  • frMa sœur est ingénieure.
  • itMia sorella è ingegnere.
  • ptMinha irmã é engenheira.
  • roSora mea e inginer.
  • caLa meva germana és enginyera.
  • enMy sister is an engineer.

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