"key" in seven languages
Meaningkey
Spanish
llave
/ˈʝabe/
fem.inherited
French
clé
/kle/
fem.inherited
Also spelled clef.
Italian
chiave
/ˈkjave/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
chave
/ˈʃavi/
fem.inherited
Romanian
cheie
/ˈkeje/
fem.inherited
Catalan
clau
/klaw/
fem.inherited
English
key
/ki/
native English · Old English cǣg
English → ItaliankeychiaveNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: clavicle, clavier, conclave.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CLĀVEM‘key’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The model CL- word: Spanish ll-, French cl- kept, Italian chi-. A conclave is a room locked 'with a key'; the clavicle looks like one.
English relatives: clavicle, clavier, conclave
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esHe perdido las llaves.
- frJ'ai perdu mes clés.
- itHo perso le chiavi.
- ptPerdi as minhas chaves.
- roMi-am pierdut cheile.
- caHe perdut les claus.
- enI've lost my keys.