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"object (thing)" in seven languages

Meaningobject (thing)

Spanish

objeto

/obˈxeto/

masc.learned

French

objet

/ɔbʒɛ/

masc.learned

Italian

oggetto

/odˈdʒɛtto/

masc.learned

Portuguese

objeto

/obˈʒɛtu/

masc.learned

European Portuguese spelled it objecto until the 1990 spelling reform.

Romanian

obiect

/oˈbjekt/

neut.learned

Catalan

objecte

/ubˈʒɛktə/

masc.learned

English

object

/ˈɑbdʒɛkt/

from Latin/French · Medieval Latin OBIECTUM

English → Italianobject (thing)oggettoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

OBIECTUM‘something thrown before (the mind)’

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

The story

OB 'in front' + IACERE 'to throw'. Even learned, each sister bent it to its own sounds: Spanish objeto with j, French objet with a silent t, Italian oggetto with a double g and double t.

English relatives: objective, project, reject, subject

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In a sentence

  • esHay un objeto extraño en la mesa.
  • frIl y a un objet bizarre sur la table.
  • itC'è un oggetto strano sul tavolo.
  • ptTem um objeto estranho em cima da mesa.
  • roPe masă e un obiect ciudat.
  • caHi ha un objecte estrany a la taula.
  • enThere's a strange object on the table.

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