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"log (of firewood)" in seven languages

Meaninglog (of firewood)

Spanish

leño

/ˈleɲo/

masc.inherited

French

bûche

/byʃ/

fem.other source · Germanic *busk- 'stick, piece of wood'

Italian

ceppo

/ˈtʃeppo/

masc.other source · Latin CIPPUM 'post, stake'

Italian also says ciocco; legna is firewood in general.

Portuguese

lenha

/ˈleɲɐ/

fem.inherited

Properly 'firewood', from the Latin plural LIGNA; a single log is um pedaço de lenha or uma acha.

Romanian

lemn

/lemn/

neut.inherited

plural: lemne

Latin -GN- became -mn- in Romanian: LIGNUM → lemn, like SIGNUM → semn.

Catalan

tronc

/tɾoŋ/

masc.other source · Latin TRUNCUM 'trunk'

English

log

/lɔg/

other source · Middle English logge, origin uncertain

English → Italianlog (of firewood)ceppoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: ligneous, lignite.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

LIGNUM‘wood, firewood’

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

The story

Spanish leño keeps LIGNUM, its gn turned into ñ; Italian keeps it in legno 'wood' and legna 'firewood'. French bûche is Germanic: the bûche de Noël is a Christmas log cake.

English relatives: ligneous, lignite

Sound laws at work

NN, GN and N + yod

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In a sentence

  • esEcha otro leño al fuego.
  • frMets une autre bûche dans le feu.
  • itMetti un altro ceppo nel fuoco.
  • ptPõe mais um pedaço de lenha na fogueira.
  • roMai pune un lemn pe foc.
  • caPosa un altre tronc al foc.
  • enPut another log on the fire.

More words from the same Latin

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