"lemon" in seven languages

Meaninglemon

Spanish

limón

/liˈmon/

masc.borrowed · Arabic laymūn

French

citron

/sitʁɔ̃/

masc.other source · derived from Latin CITRUS 'citron tree'

False friend: un citron is a lemon, not an English citron (cédrat).

Italian

limone

/liˈmone/

masc.borrowed · Arabic laymūn

Portuguese

limão

/liˈmɐ̃w/

masc.borrowed · Arabic laymūn

In Brazil limão usually means the green lime.

Romanian

lămâie

/ləˈmɨje/

fem.borrowed · Greek lemóni (cf. Turkish limon)

Catalan

llimona

/ʎiˈmonə/

fem.borrowed · Arabic laymūn

English

lemon

/ˈlɛmən/

from Latin/French · Old French limon

English → ItalianlemonlimoneCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The ancestor

Arabic laymūn‘lemon (from Persian līmūn)’

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

Spanish and Italian took the Arabic name with the fruit; French reached back to Latin CITRUS. Limonade, limonada, limonata all keep the Arabic stem.

English relatives: lemon, lime