"louse" in seven languages
Meaninglouse
Spanish
piojo
/ˈpjoxo/
masc.inherited
French
pou
/pu/
masc.inherited
plural: poux
Old French peouil: the final l has gone, as in genou.
Italian
pidocchio
/piˈdɔkkjo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
piolho
/piˈoʎu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
păduche
/pəˈduke/
masc.inherited
plural: păduchi
Catalan
poll
/poʎ/
masc.inherited
English
louse
/laʊs/
native English · Old English lūs
plural: lice
English → ItalianlousepidocchioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: pediculosis.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
*PEDUCULUM‘louse (Classical PEDICULUM)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spoken Latin said *PEDUCULUS for PEDICULUS, and each sister treated its -c'l- by the usual rule: piojo with j, pidocchio with cchi, piolho with lh, păduche with ch, poll with ll. French lost the trace altogether: pou.
English relatives: pediculosis
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLos piojos se contagian rápido en el colegio.
- frLes poux se transmettent vite à l'école.
- itA scuola i pidocchi si diffondono in fretta.
- ptPiolho se espalha rápido na escola.
- roPăduchii se răspândesc repede la școală.
- caEls polls s'encomanen ràpidament a l'escola.
- enLice spread quickly at school.