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"obvious" in seven languages

Meaningobvious

Spanish

obvio

/ˈobjo/

learned

French

évident

/evidɑ̃/

other source · Latin ĒVIDENTEM 'clearly seen' (learned)

Italian

ovvio

/ˈɔvvjo/

learned

Portuguese

óbvio

/ˈɔbvju/

learned

Romanian

evident

/eviˈdent/

other source · Latin ĒVIDENTEM 'clearly seen' (learned, via French évident)

Catalan

obvi

/ˈɔbi/

learned

English

obvious

/ˈɑbviəs/

from Latin/French · Latin obvius

English → ItalianobviousovvioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

OBVIUM‘in the way, met on the road’

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

The story

OBVIUS is 'standing in the way' (OB + VIA): what is obvious is what you bump into. Italian assimilated bv to vv; French prefers évident, English evident.

English relatives: via, trivial, obviate

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In a sentence

  • esLa respuesta es obvia.
  • frLa réponse est évidente.
  • itLa risposta è ovvia.
  • ptA resposta é óbvia.
  • roRăspunsul e evident.
  • caLa resposta és òbvia.
  • enThe answer is obvious.

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