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"lock (on a door)" in seven languages

Meaninglock (on a door)

Spanish

cerradura

/θeraˈduɾa/

fem.inherited

French

serrure

/seʁyʁ/

fem.inherited

Italian

serratura

/serraˈtura/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

fechadura

/feʃaˈduɾɐ/

fem.other source · Portuguese fechar 'to close' (of debated origin)

Romanian

încuietoare

/ɨnkujeˈto̯are/

fem.other source · Romanian încuia 'to lock' (related to cheie 'key', Latin CLĀVEM)

A door lock is also colloquially broască, 'frog'.

Catalan

pany

/paɲ/

masc.other source · of debated origin (perhaps Latin PANNUM 'cloth, patch')

English

lock

/lɑk/

native English · Old English loc

English → Italianlock (on a door)serraturaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: serried.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*SERRĀRE (spoken Latin, for SERĀRE)‘to bar, bolt (SERA 'bolt')’

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

The story

A lock is what 'bars' the door: Spanish cerrar, French serrer and Italian serrare all go back to SERA 'bolt'. In Spanish, cerrar became the everyday 'to close'.

English relatives: serried

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften

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In a sentence

  • esLa llave se ha quedado atascada en la cerradura.
  • frLa clé est coincée dans la serrure.
  • itLa chiave si è incastrata nella serratura.
  • ptA chave ficou presa na fechadura.
  • roCheia s-a blocat în încuietoare.
  • caLa clau s'ha encallat al pany.
  • enThe key is stuck in the lock.

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