"grass" in seven languages
Meaninggrass
Spanish
hierba
/ˈʝeɾba/
fem.inherited
Also spelled yerba; yerba mate is the South American infusion.
French
herbe
/ɛʁb/
fem.inherited
Italian
erba
/ˈɛrba/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
grama
/ˈgɾɐ̃mɐ/
fem.other source · Latin GRĀMEN 'grass'
In Portugal relva; erva (from HERBAM) means herb or weed.
Romanian
iarbă
/ˈjarbə/
fem.inherited
Catalan
herba
/ˈɛrbə/
fem.inherited
A lawn is gespa.
English
grass
/ɡɹæs/
native English · Old English græs
English → ItaliangrasserbaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: herb, herbal, herbivore.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
HERBAM‘grass, plant’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin H- was silent already in Roman speech: Italian dropped it, French kept it only in spelling, and Spanish's ie diphthong now sounds like a y.
English relatives: herb, herbal, herbivore
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo pises la hierba.
- frNe marche pas sur l'herbe.
- itNon calpestare l'erba.
- ptNão pise na grama.
- roNu călca pe iarbă.
- caNo trepitgis l'herba.
- enDon't walk on the grass.