"fork" in seven languages
Meaningfork
Spanish
/teneˈdoɾ/
masc.other source · derived from tener 'to hold' (Latin TENĒRE): 'the holder'
French
/fuʁʃɛt/
fem.inherited
Diminutive of fourche 'pitchfork'.
Italian
/forˈketta/
fem.inherited
Diminutive of forca 'pitchfork'.
Portuguese
/ˈgahfu/
masc.other source · of uncertain origin
Romanian
/furkuˈlitsə/
fem.inherited
A diminutive of furcă 'pitchfork' (FURCAM).
Catalan
/furˈkiʎə/
fem.inherited
A diminutive of forca 'pitchfork'.
English
/fɔɹk/
from Latin/French · Old English forca (an early loan from Latin)
The Latin ancestor
FURCAM‘pitchfork’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Table forks spread late, from Italy. French and Italian called them 'little pitchforks' (with French ca → cha); Spanish called it simply 'the holder'.
English relatives: fork (early loan into Old English), bifurcate
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esCuchillo y tenedor.
- frLe couteau et la fourchette.
- itColtello e forchetta.
- ptFaca e garfo.
- roCuțit și furculiță.
- caGanivet i forquilla.
- enKnife and fork.