"lord (master, nobleman)" in seven languages
Meaninglord (master, nobleman)
Spanish
/seˈɲoɾ/
masc.inherited
The same word is 'sir, Mr' and, capitalised, the Lord.
French
/sɛɲœʁ/
masc.inherited
Sire and monsieur come from the nominative SENIOR; seigneur from the accusative.
Italian
/siɲˈɲore/
masc.inherited
Also 'sir, Mr' (signor Rossi) and il Signore, the Lord.
Portuguese
/seˈɲoh/
masc.inherited
Romanian
/stəˈpɨn/
masc.other source · Slavic (cf. Old Church Slavonic stopanŭ 'master')
Catalan
/səˈɲo/
masc.inherited
English
/lɔɹd/
native English · Old English hlāford 'loaf-keeper'
The Latin ancestor
SENIŌREM‘older (comparative of SENEX 'old')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The lord was simply 'the elder'. NI before a vowel became the palatal ñ / gn in all three. French alone kept two forms apart: seigneur for the feudal lord, monsieur for everyone.
English relatives: senior, senate, senile, sir, sire
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esEl señor vivía en el castillo.
- frLe seigneur vivait dans le château.
- itIl signore viveva nel castello.
- ptO senhor vivia no castelo.
- roStăpânul locuia în castel.
- caEl senyor vivia al castell.
- enThe lord lived in the castle.