"member" in seven languages
Meaningmember
Spanish
miembro
/ˈmjembɾo/
masc.inherited
French
membre
/mɑ̃bʁ/
masc.inherited
Italian
membro
/ˈmɛmbro/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
membro
/ˈmẽbɾu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
membru
/ˈmembru/
masc.learned
Catalan
membre
/ˈmembɾə/
masc.inherited
English
member
/ˈmɛmbɚ/
from Latin/French · Old French membre
English → ItalianmembermembroCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MEMBRUM‘limb’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
MEMBRUM meant a limb, and still can in all three: a member of a club is a limb of its body. Spanish broke the short e into ie even before a cluster.
English relatives: membership, dismember
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esEs miembro del club.
- frElle est membre du club.
- itÈ membro del club.
- ptEla é membro do clube.
- roEste membră a clubului.
- caÉs membre del club.
- enShe is a member of the club.