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"grave (burial place)" in seven languages

Meaninggrave (burial place)

Spanish

tumba

/ˈtumba/

fem.learned

Also sepultura.

French

tombe

/tɔ̃b/

fem.inherited

Italian

tomba

/ˈtomba/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

túmulo

/ˈtumulu/

masc.other source · Latin TUMULUM 'mound' (learned)

Romanian

mormânt

/morˈmɨnt/

neut.other source · Latin MONUMENTUM 'memorial'

Catalan

tomba

/ˈtombə/

fem.inherited

English

grave

/ɡɹeɪv/

native English · Old English græf

English → Italiangrave (burial place)tombaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: tomb, entomb.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

TUMBAM (Late Latin)‘burial mound (Greek týmbos)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Church Latin TUMBA, from Greek, gave tombe and tomba; Spanish kept the Latin u. English grave (noun) is native, unrelated to the adjective grave 'serious' from Latin GRAVIS.

English relatives: tomb, entomb

Sound laws at work

Final vowels

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In a sentence

  • esPusieron flores en su tumba.
  • frIls ont déposé des fleurs sur sa tombe.
  • itHanno messo dei fiori sulla sua tomba.
  • ptPuseram flores no túmulo dele.
  • roI-au pus flori pe mormânt.
  • caVan posar flors a la seva tomba.
  • enThey put flowers on his grave.

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