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"lesson" in seven languages

Meaninglesson

Spanish

lección

/lekˈθjon/

fem.learned

French

leçon

/ləsɔ̃/

fem.inherited

Italian

lezione

/letˈtsjone/

fem.learned

Also a university lecture.

Portuguese

lição

/liˈsɐ̃w/

fem.learned

Semi-learned: the popular outcome of -CT- is -it- (FACTUM → feito); Old Portuguese also had leição.

Romanian

lecție

/ˈlektsie/

fem.learned

Catalan

lliçó

/ʎiˈso/

fem.learned

Semi-learned: a fully popular word would show -it- from -CT-, as in fet ← FACTUM.

English

lesson

/ˈlɛsən/

from Latin/French · Old French leçon

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

The Latin ancestor

LECTIŌNEM‘a reading’

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

The story

A lesson was a reading aloud. French wore the word down (leçon) and passed it to English as lesson; Spanish and Italian took it back from books with its -ción / -zione intact.

English relatives: lesson, lecture, lectern, election

Sound laws at work

-TIŌNEM: learned -ción, inherited -zón

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In a sentence

  • esLa lección de hoy es fácil.
  • frLa leçon d'aujourd'hui est facile.
  • itLa lezione di oggi è facile.
  • ptA lição de hoje é fácil.
  • roLecția de azi e ușoară.
  • caLa lliçó d'avui és fàcil.
  • enToday's lesson is easy.

The Latin family

LEG-, LĒCT-· gather, read

LEGERE first meant 'to gather, pick', then 'to pick out letters', to read. Both senses survive: leer, lire, leggere for reading, and COLLIGERE 'gather together' in coger, cueillir, cogliere. The lesson family shows a neat doublet: French leçon is inherited, Spanish lección and Italian lezione are learned. Portuguese ler and Catalan llegir read too; Romanian reads with the Slavic citi, but kept the 'gathering' compounds: culege 'to pick' and alege 'to choose'.

  • LEGEREto gather; to read

    esleerfrlireitleggereptlercallegir

  • LĒCTIŌNEMa reading

    eslecciónfrleçonitlezioneptliçãorolecțiecalliçóenlesson

  • LĒCTŪRAM (Medieval Latin)a reading

    eslecturafrlectureitletturaptleiturarolecturăcalecturaenlecture

  • LĒCTŌREMreader

    eslectorfrlecteuritlettoreptleitorrolectorcalectorenlector

  • COLLIGEREto gather together

    escogerfrcueilliritcogliereptcolherroculegecacollirencull

  • ĒLIGEREto pick out

    eselegirfrélireiteleggereptelegerroalegecaelegirenelect

Explore all Latin families

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