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"pain" in seven languages

Meaningpain

Spanish

dolor

/doˈloɾ/

masc.inherited

French

douleur

/dulœʁ/

fem.inherited

Italian

dolore

/doˈlore/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

dor

/doh/

fem.inherited

Portuguese lost the intervocalic -l-: DOLŌREM → dor.

Romanian

durere

/duˈrere/

fem.other source · Romanian durea 'to hurt' (Latin DOLĒRE)

Intervocalic -l- turned to -r-: DOLĒRE → durea.

Catalan

dolor

/duˈlo/

masc.inherited

English

pain

/peɪn/

other source · Old French peine (Latin POENAM)

English → ItalianpaindoloreNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: dolorous, condolence.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

DOLŌREM‘pain, grief’

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

The story

Same word, different gender: French made its -eur nouns feminine (la douleur, la couleur), while Spanish and Italian keep Latin's masculine (el dolor, il dolore).

English relatives: dolorous, condolence

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In a sentence

  • esTengo un dolor en la espalda.
  • frJ'ai une douleur dans le dos.
  • itHo un dolore alla schiena.
  • ptEstou com uma dor nas costas.
  • roAm o durere de spate.
  • caTinc un dolor a l'esquena.
  • enI have a pain in my back.

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