"leather" in seven languages
Meaningleather
Spanish
cuero
/ˈkweɾo/
masc.inherited
French
cuir
/kɥiʁ/
masc.inherited
Italian
cuoio
/ˈkwɔjo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
couro
/ˈkowɾu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
piele
/ˈpjele/
fem.other source · Latin PELLEM 'skin, hide'
Catalan
cuir
/kuˈi/
masc.inherited
English
leather
/ˈlɛðɚ/
native English · Old English leþer
English → ItalianleathercuoioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cuirass, excoriate.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CORIUM‘hide, skin’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Short Ŏ diphthongs everywhere: Spanish ue, Italian uo, French ui. A cuirass was armour made of leather.
English relatives: cuirass, excoriate
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esUna chaqueta de cuero.
- frUne veste en cuir.
- itUna giacca di pelle.
- ptUma jaqueta de couro.
- roO geacă de piele.
- caUna jaqueta de cuir.
- enA leather jacket.