"green" in seven languages
Meaninggreen
Spanish
verde
/ˈbeɾde/
inherited
French
vert
/vɛʁ/
inherited
fem.: verte
Italian
verde
/ˈverde/
inherited
Portuguese
verde
/ˈvehdʒi/
inherited
Romanian
verde
/ˈverde/
inherited
Catalan
verd
/bɛrt/
inherited
Central Catalan says v as [b], like Spanish, and drops the final vowel: verd, feminine verda.
English
green
/ɡɹin/
native English · Old English grēne
English → ItaliangreenverdeNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: verdant, verdure.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
VIRIDEM (spoken *VIRDEM)‘green, fresh’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spoken Latin dropped the middle vowel (*VIRDE). Spanish and Italian are now spelled identically, though Spanish says [b].
English relatives: verdant, verdure
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa hierba está muy verde después de la lluvia.
- frL'herbe est très verte après la pluie.
- itL'erba è verdissima dopo la pioggia.
- ptA grama fica bem verde depois da chuva.
- roIarba e foarte verde după ploaie.
- caL'herba està molt verda després de la pluja.
- enThe grass is very green after the rain.