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"league (alliance; sports league)" in seven languages

Meaningleague (alliance; sports league)

Spanish

liga

/ˈliga/

fem.learned

From ligar, a semi-learned verb beside inherited liar; also 'garter'.

French

ligue

/liɡ/

fem.borrowed · Italian liga, lega

A football league is usually le championnat.

Italian

lega

/ˈlega/

fem.inherited

From legare 'to tie'; also 'alloy'.

Portuguese

liga

/ˈliɡɐ/

fem.learned

Romanian

ligă

/ˈliɡə/

fem.borrowed · French ligue / Italian lega

Catalan

lliga

/ˈʎiɡə/

fem.inherited

From lligar 'to tie' (LIGĀRE), with Catalan's palatal ll- for initial L-.

English

league

/liɡ/

from Latin/French · French ligue (from Italian)

League as a unit of distance is a different word.

English → Italianleague (alliance; sports league)legaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

LIGĀRE‘to tie, bind’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A league is a group 'tied together'. Italian has the inherited form (short Ĭ → e); French borrowed the word from Italian, and English took it from French.

English relatives: ligament, oblige, ally, liable

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In a sentence

  • esFundaron una liga contra el racismo.
  • frIls ont fondé une ligue contre le racisme.
  • itHanno fondato una lega contro il razzismo.
  • ptFundaram uma liga contra o racismo.
  • roAu înființat o ligă împotriva rasismului.
  • caVan fundar una lliga contra el racisme.
  • enThey founded a league against racism.

More words from the same Latin

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