"holidays, vacation" in seven languages
Meaningholidays, vacation
Spanish
vacaciones
/bakaˈθjones/
fem.learned
Always plural in this sense: irse de vacaciones.
French
vacances
/vakɑ̃s/
fem.learned
Always plural in this sense: partir en vacances.
Italian
vacanze
/vaˈkantse/
fem.learned
Singular vacanza is also common: andare in vacanza.
Portuguese
férias
/ˈfɛɾjɐs/
fem.other source · Latin FĒRIAS 'feast days, days off'
Romanian
vacanță
/vaˈkantsə/
fem.borrowed · French vacances
Paid leave from work is concediu.
Catalan
vacances
/bəˈkansəs/
fem.learned
English
holiday
/ˈhɑlədeɪ/
native English · Old English hāligdæg 'holy day'
English → Italianholidays, vacationvacanzeNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: vacation, vacant, vacuum.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
VACĀRE‘to be empty, free’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Holidays are 'empty' time. Spanish builds on the noun VACĀTIŌNEM, French and Italian on the participle VACANTEM.
English relatives: vacation, vacant, vacuum
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Adónde vas de vacaciones?
- frTu pars où en vacances ?
- itDove vai in vacanza?
- ptPara onde você vai nas férias?
- roUnde mergi în vacanță?
- caOn vas de vacances?
- enWhere are you going on holiday?