"more" in seven languages
Meaningmore
Spanish
más
/mas/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
French
plus
/plys/
inherited
Pronounced [ply] in negation (je n'en veux plus 'no more') and before a consonant.
Italian
più
/pju/
inherited
Portuguese
mais
/majs/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
Romanian
mai
/maj/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
Catalan
més
/mes/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
English
more
/mɔɹ/
native English · Old English māra
English → ItalianmorepiùNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: plus, plural, surplus.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PLŪS‘more’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin had two words for 'more'; Spanish chose MAGIS, French and Italian PLŪS. Italian più shows the pl → pi shift, French plus the ū → [y] fronting.
English relatives: plus, plural, surplus
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esUn poco más, por favor.
- frUn peu plus, s'il vous plaît.
- itUn po' di più, per favore.
- ptUm pouco mais, por favor.
- roÎncă puțin, vă rog.
- caUna mica més, si us plau.
- enA little more, please.