"iron (metal)" in seven languages
Meaningiron (metal)
Spanish
hierro
/ˈjero/
masc.inherited
French
fer
/fɛʁ/
masc.inherited
Italian
ferro
/ˈfɛrro/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
ferro
/ˈfɛhu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
fier
/fjer/
neut.inherited
Catalan
ferro
/ˈfɛru/
masc.inherited
English
iron
/ˈaɪɚn/
native English · Old English īsern, īren
Also the appliance; the sisters name that from the same metal: plancha, fer à repasser, ferro da stiro.
English → Italianiron (metal)ferroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: ferrous, ferric, farrier.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
FERRUM‘iron’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish did two things to FERRUM at once: F- became a silent h, and short e broke into ie. Italian kept both the f and the double r.
English relatives: ferrous, ferric, farrier
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa verja es de hierro.
- frLe portail est en fer.
- itIl cancello è di ferro.
- ptO portão é de ferro.
- roPoarta e din fier.
- caLa reixa és de ferro.
- enThe gate is made of iron.