"flower" in seven languages
Meaningflower
Spanish
flor
/floɾ/
fem.inherited
Keeps fl- where the rule predicts ll- (compare llama ← FLAMMAM); it is usually treated as semi-learned.
French
fleur
/flœʁ/
fem.inherited
Italian
fiore
/ˈfjore/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
flor
/floh/
fem.inherited
Romanian
floare
/ˈflo̯are/
fem.inherited
Catalan
flor
/flo/
fem.inherited
English
flower
/ˈflaʊɚ/
from Latin/French · Old French flour
English → ItalianflowerfioreCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
FLŌREM (nom. FLŌS)‘flower’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin FLŌS was masculine and Italian kept it so (il fiore); Spanish and French made it feminine. English flour is the same word: the 'flower', i.e. the finest part, of the meal.
English relatives: floral, flourish, flour, florist
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLe trajo unas flores.
- frIl lui a apporté des fleurs.
- itLe ha portato dei fiori.
- ptEle trouxe umas flores para ela.
- roI-a adus niște flori.
- caLi va portar unes flors.
- enHe brought her some flowers.