"nest" in seven languages
Meaningnest
Spanish
nido
/ˈnido/
masc.inherited
French
nid
/ni/
masc.inherited
The d is silent.
Italian
nido
/ˈnido/
masc.inherited
Also a nursery for toddlers: l'asilo nido.
Portuguese
ninho
/ˈniɲu/
masc.inherited
The first n nasalized the word, ending in nh.
Romanian
cuib
/kujb/
neut.other source · Latin CUBĪLE 'bed, lair'
Catalan
niu
/niw/
masc.inherited
The D between vowels became u, as in peu 'foot'.
English
nest
/nɛst/
Indo-European kin · PIE *nisdós 'sitting-down place'
English → ItaliannestnidoDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
NĪDUM‘nest’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin NĪDUS was once *ni-sd-os, 'the place where you sit down', and English nest is its Germanic twin. Romanian builds its nest from CUBĪLE 'bed, lair' (cuib).
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esLos pájaros hicieron un nido en el árbol.
- frLes oiseaux ont fait leur nid dans l'arbre.
- itGli uccelli hanno fatto il nido sull'albero.
- ptOs passarinhos fizeram um ninho na árvore.
- roPăsările și-au făcut cuib în copac.
- caEls ocells han fet un niu a l'arbre.
- enThe birds built a nest in the tree.