"grandfather" in seven languages
Meaninggrandfather
Spanish
/aˈbwelo/
masc.other source · Vulgar Latin *AVIOLUM, diminutive of AVUS 'grandfather'
French
/gʁɑ̃pɛʁ/
masc.other source · grand 'great' + père (Latin PATREM)
Italian
/ˈnɔnno/
masc.other source · Late Latin NONNUM 'tutor, elder monk', a nursery word
Portuguese
/aˈvo/
masc.other source · spoken Latin *AVIOLUM 'little grandfather' (from AVUS)
Romanian
/buˈnik/
masc.other source · bun 'good' (Latin BONUM) + the suffix -ic
Catalan
/ˈabi/
masc.other source · Latin AVUM 'grandfather'
English
/ˈgɹænfɑðɚ/
other source · Anglo-French grand- + Old English fæder
The story
Latin AVUS survives only in Spanish, through the diminutive *AVIOLUS 'little grandpa', whose open o became ue. French says 'great-father' — the model for English grandfather — and Italian took up the nursery word nonno.
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esMi abuelo tiene ochenta años.
- frMon grand-père a quatre-vingts ans.
- itMio nonno ha ottant'anni.
- ptMeu avô tem oitenta anos.
- roBunicul meu are optzeci de ani.
- caEl meu avi té vuitanta anys.
- enMy grandfather is eighty.