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"loud" in seven languages

Meaningloud

Spanish

fuerte

/ˈfweɾte/

inherited

For music or a voice, alto is common: la música está muy alta.

French

fort

/fɔʁ/

inherited

fem.: forte

Italian

forte

/ˈfɔrte/

inherited

For volume, also alto: la musica è troppo alta.

Portuguese

alto

/ˈawtu/

other source · Latin ALTUM 'high'

Loud is 'high' in Portuguese (falar alto); forte also works for a sudden noise.

Romanian

puternic

/puˈternik/

other source · putere 'power' (Latin *POTĒRE) + the Slavic suffix -nic

Catalan

fort

/fɔrt/

inherited

English

loud

/laʊd/

native English · Old English hlūd

English → ItalianloudforteNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: force, fort, effort, comfort.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

FORTEM‘strong’

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

The story

The sisters call a loud noise a 'strong' one. Spanish breaks the open o of FORTEM into ue; Italian keeps forte, the word musicians use for 'loud'.

English relatives: force, fort, effort, comfort

Sound laws at work

Stressed short O breaks into ue / uo / eu

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In a sentence

  • esOímos un ruido fuerte.
  • frNous avons entendu un bruit fort.
  • itAbbiamo sentito un rumore forte.
  • ptOuvimos um barulho alto.
  • roAm auzit un zgomot puternic.
  • caVam sentir un soroll fort.
  • enWe heard a loud noise.

More words from the same Latin

More in Describing words

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