"knife" in seven languages
Meaningknife
Spanish
cuchillo
/kuˈtʃiʝo/
masc.inherited
French
couteau
/kuto/
masc.inherited
plural: couteaux
Italian
coltello
/kolˈtɛllo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
faca
/ˈfakɐ/
fem.other source · of uncertain origin
Romanian
cuțit
/kuˈtsit/
neut.other source · Latin *COTĪTUM 'whetted', from CŌS 'whetstone'
Catalan
ganivet
/gəniˈbɛt/
masc.other source · Old French canivet, of Germanic origin
English
knife
/naɪf/
native English · Old Norse knífr
plural: knives
English → ItalianknifecoltelloNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cutlery, cutlass, coulter.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CULTELLUM‘small knife (dim. of CULTER)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Italian keeps the l (coltello); French turned it into u (couteau, like autre) and Spanish fused ult into ch (cuchillo, like mucho from MULTUM).
English relatives: cutlery, cutlass, coulter
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEste cuchillo no corta.
- frCe couteau ne coupe pas.
- itQuesto coltello non taglia.
- ptEssa faca não corta.
- roCuțitul ăsta nu taie.
- caAquest ganivet no talla.
- enThis knife doesn't cut.
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