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"net (mesh)" in seven languages

Meaningnet (mesh)

Spanish

red

/red/

fem.inherited

Also 'network', and la red is the internet.

French

filet

/filɛ/

masc.other source · French fil 'thread' (Latin FĪLUM) + -et

A network is un réseau.

Italian

rete

/ˈrete/

fem.inherited

Also 'network' and a goal in football: fare rete.

Portuguese

rede

/ˈhedʒi/

fem.inherited

Also 'network' and 'hammock'.

Romanian

plasă

/ˈplasə/

fem.other source · of uncertain origin

A fishing net is also a năvod, a Slavic word.

Catalan

xarxa

/ˈʃarʃə/

fem.other source · Arabic šábaka 'net'

Also 'network': la xarxa is the internet.

English

net

/nɛt/

native English · Old English net

English → Italiannet (mesh)reteNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: reticulate, retina; filament (fr).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

RĒTEM‘net’

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

The story

Spanish red and Italian rete are the same Latin net, Spanish voicing the t and dropping the final vowel. French calls it 'a little thread', filet.

English relatives: reticulate, retina; filament (fr)

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften

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In a sentence

  • esLos pescadores recogen la red.
  • frLes pêcheurs remontent le filet.
  • itI pescatori tirano su la rete.
  • ptOs pescadores puxam a rede.
  • roPescarii trag plasa.
  • caEls pescadors recullen la xarxa.
  • enThe fishermen pull in the net.

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