"few" in seven languages
Meaningfew
Spanish
pocos
/ˈpokos/
inherited
fem.: pocas
French
peu
/pø/
inherited
Followed by de: peu d'amis.
Italian
pochi
/ˈpɔki/
inherited
fem.: poche
Portuguese
poucos
/ˈpokus/
inherited
Romanian
puțini
/puˈtsinʲ/
other source · puțin 'little', of uncertain origin
Catalan
pocs
/pɔks/
inherited
English
few
/fju/
Indo-European kin · PIE *pau- 'few, little'
Native few and Latin PAUCĪ are Indo-European cousins.
English → ItalianfewpochiDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: paucity.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PAUCŌS (nom. PAUCĪ)‘few’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin PAUCĪ lost its diphthong (AU → o) to give pocos and pochi; French wore it down to peu. English few is the native cousin through Indo-European.
English relatives: paucity
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esTengo pocos amigos aquí.
- frJ'ai peu d'amis ici.
- itHo pochi amici qui.
- ptTenho poucos amigos aqui.
- roAm puțini prieteni aici.
- caTinc pocs amics aquí.
- enI have few friends here.