"long" in seven languages
Meaninglong
Spanish
/ˈlaɾgo/
other source · Latin LARGUM 'abundant, generous'
False friend: largo is 'long', never 'large' (grande).
French
/lɔ̃/
inherited
fem.: longue
Italian
/ˈlungo/
inherited
Portuguese
/ˈlõgu/
inherited
Everyday speech also says comprido for physical length.
Romanian
/luŋg/
inherited
Catalan
/ʎark/
other source · Latin LARGUM 'abundant, generous'
Like Spanish largo; 'wide' is ample.
English
/lɔŋ/
Indo-European kin · PIE *dlongʰos
Native 'long' is a distant cognate of LONGUM, not a borrowing; 'longitude' is the borrowing.
Watch out: false friends
largo (Italian) means “wide” · largo (Spanish) means “long”
Both from Latin LARGUM 'abundant, generous'. Italian (with French large) turned 'ample' into 'wide'; Spanish into 'long', leaving 'wide' to ancho (AMPLUM).
large (French) means “wide” · largo (Spanish) means “long”
Same Latin LARGUM 'abundant'. French large is 'wide' (and English large 'big' came from it); Spanish largo is 'long'.
The Latin ancestor
LONGUM‘long’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A famous tangle: Spanish largo means 'long', but Italian largo and French large mean 'wide'. Spanish turned LARGUS 'abundant' into length; Old Spanish luengo (← LONGUM) is now archaic.
English relatives: long, longitude, prolong, elongate
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEs una historia larga.
- frC'est une longue histoire.
- itÈ una lunga storia.
- ptÉ uma longa história.
- roE o poveste lungă.
- caÉs una història llarga.
- enIt's a long story.