"honey" in seven languages
Meaninghoney
Spanish
miel
/mjel/
fem.inherited
French
miel
/mjɛl/
masc.inherited
Italian
miele
/ˈmjɛle/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
mel
/mɛw/
masc.inherited
Romanian
miere
/ˈmjere/
fem.inherited
Intervocalic -l- became -r- (MEL, MELLIS → miere), and the word turned feminine.
Catalan
mel
/mɛl/
fem.inherited
Feminine in Catalan: la mel.
English
honey
/ˈhʌni/
native English · Old English hunig
English → ItalianhoneymieleNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: mellifluous, molasses (via Portuguese melaço).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MEL (gen. MELLIS)‘honey’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Short Ĕ broke into ie in all three: miel, miel, miele. Spanish alone made it feminine: la miel.
English relatives: mellifluous, molasses (via Portuguese melaço)
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esTé con miel.
- frDu thé au miel.
- itTè con il miele.
- ptChá com mel.
- roCeai cu miere.
- caTe amb mel.
- enTea with honey.