"eyebrow" in seven languages

Meaningeyebrow

Spanish

ceja

/ˈθexa/

fem.other source · Latin CILIA 'eyelids, lashes'

French

sourcil

/suʁsi/

masc.inherited

The final l is traditionally silent; many now pronounce it.

Italian

sopracciglio

/sopratˈtʃiʎʎo/

masc.inherited

plural: sopracciglia (f)

Portuguese

sobrancelha

/sobɾɐ̃ˈseʎɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

sprânceană

/sprɨnˈtʃe̯anə/

fem.inherited

plural: sprâncene

Catalan

cella

/ˈseʎə/

fem.other source · Latin CILIA 'eyelids, lashes'

Like Spanish ceja, it dropped the prefix.

English

eyebrow

/ˈaɪbɹaʊ/

native English · Old English ēage + brū

English → ItalianeyebrowsopracciglioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: supercilious.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SUPERCILIUM‘eyebrow ('above the lid')’

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

The story

French and Italian kept SUPERCILIUM, 'what is above the lid'; Spanish dropped the prefix (ceja, from CILIA). The LI gave the usual palatals: j, -il, -glio. Supercilious people raise an eyebrow.

English relatives: supercilious

Sound laws at work

L + yod

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