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"meal" in seven languages

Meaningmeal

Spanish

comida

/koˈmida/

fem.other source · comer 'to eat' ← Latin COMEDERE 'to eat up'

In Spain also 'lunch', the main meal of the day.

French

repas

/ʁəpa/

masc.inherited

Old French past 'food' (PASTUM), reshaped after repaître 'to feed'.

Italian

pasto

/ˈpasto/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

refeição

/hefejˈsɐ̃w/

fem.other source · Latin REFECTIŌNEM 'refreshment'

Romanian

masă

/ˈmasə/

fem.other source · Latin MĒNSAM 'table'

The same word means 'table': a meal is what is on it.

Catalan

àpat

/ˈapət/

masc.other source · of debated origin

English

meal

/mil/

native English · Old English mǣl 'set time; meal'

The old sense 'a set time' survives in piecemeal.

English → ItalianmealpastoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: repast, pasture, pastor.What English and Italian share

Watch out: false friends

  • masa (Spanish) means “dough; mass” · masă (Romanian) means “table; meal”

    Coincidence. Romanian masă 'table' is inherited from MĒNSAM, the source of Spanish mesa; Spanish masa is MASSAM 'lump'. Romanian has a second masă 'mass' (physics), borrowed from French masse.

All false friends

The Latin ancestor

PASTUM‘food, fodder (from PĀSCERE 'to graze')’

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

The story

French and Italian eat their meals 'at pasture': PASTUS was what grazing animals were fed. English repast is the French word. Spanish simply says 'the eating'.

English relatives: repast, pasture, pastor

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In a sentence

  • esEl desayuno es la comida más importante del día.
  • frLe petit-déjeuner est le repas le plus important de la journée.
  • itLa colazione è il pasto più importante della giornata.
  • ptO café da manhã é a refeição mais importante do dia.
  • roMicul dejun este cea mai importantă masă a zilei.
  • caL'esmorzar és l'àpat més important del dia.
  • enBreakfast is the most important meal of the day.

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