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"evening" in seven languages

Meaningevening

Spanish

tarde

/ˈtaɾde/

fem.other source · Latin TARDE 'late' (adverb)

La tarde runs from lunch until dark; after that it is la noche.

French

soir

/swaʁ/

masc.inherited

Soirée (f) is the evening as a span, or a party.

Italian

sera

/ˈsera/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

noite

/ˈnojtʃi/

fem.other source · Latin NOCTEM 'night'

Portuguese splits the day into tarde and noite; serão, from Latin SĒRUS 'late', means 'late evening, evening work'.

Romanian

seară

/ˈse̯arə/

fem.inherited

Catalan

vespre

/ˈbɛspɾə/

masc.other source · Latin VESPERUM 'evening'

English

evening

/ˈivnɪŋ/

native English · Old English ǣfnung

English → ItalianeveningseraNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: soiree (from French); tardy (TARDE).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SĒRŌ‘late (adverb), via *SĒRA (hōra) 'late hour'’

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

The story

Both words mean 'late': French and Italian from SĒRŌ, Spanish from TARDE. Spanish tarde also still means 'late': llego tarde.

English relatives: soiree (from French); tardy (TARDE)

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In a sentence

  • esNos vemos esta tarde.
  • frOn se voit ce soir.
  • itCi vediamo stasera.
  • ptA gente se vê hoje à noite.
  • roNe vedem diseară.
  • caEns veiem aquest vespre.
  • enWe'll see each other this evening.

More words from the same Latin

More in Time

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