"horse" in seven languages
Meaninghorse
Spanish
caballo
/kaˈbaʝo/
masc.inherited
French
cheval
/ʃəval/
masc.inherited
plural: chevaux
Italian
cavallo
/kaˈvallo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
cavalo
/kaˈvalu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
cal
/kal/
masc.inherited
plural: cai
Worn down to one syllable; călări 'to ride' is built on it.
Catalan
cavall
/kəˈbaʎ/
masc.inherited
English
horse
/hɔɹs/
native English · Old English hors
English → ItalianhorsecavalloNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cavalry, cavalier, chivalry.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CABALLUM‘workhorse, nag’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spoken Latin preferred the humble 'nag' to noble EQUUS (equine) — though EQUAM 'mare' lives on in Spanish yegua. English got cavalry from Italian and chivalry from French: the same horse twice.
English relatives: cavalry, cavalier, chivalry
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esMonta a caballo todos los domingos.
- frElle fait du cheval tous les dimanches.
- itVa a cavallo ogni domenica.
- ptEla anda a cavalo todo domingo.
- roCălărește în fiecare duminică.
- caMunta a cavall cada diumenge.
- enShe rides a horse every Sunday.