"governor" in seven languages
Meaninggovernor
Spanish
gobernador
/gobeɾnaˈdoɾ/
masc.inherited
French
gouverneur
/guvɛʁnœʁ/
masc.inherited
Italian
governatore
/governaˈtore/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
governador
/govehnaˈdoh/
masc.inherited
Romanian
guvernator
/guvernaˈtor/
masc.learned
Catalan
governador
/gubəɾnəˈdo/
masc.inherited
English
governor
/ˈgʌvɚnɚ/
from Latin/French · Old French governeor
English → ItaliangovernorgovernatoreCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
GUBERNĀTŌREM‘helmsman’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A governor was first a helmsman: Latin took GUBERNĀRE from Greek kybernân 'to steer', the root of cybernetics. Spanish voiced the t (-ador); Italian kept it (-atore).
English relatives: govern, government, gubernatorial
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esEl gobernador dio un discurso.
- frLe gouverneur a prononcé un discours.
- itIl governatore ha tenuto un discorso.
- ptO governador fez um discurso.
- roGuvernatorul a ținut un discurs.
- caEl governador va fer un discurs.
- enThe governor gave a speech.