"passenger" in seven languages

Meaningpassenger

Spanish

pasajero

/pasaˈxeɾo/

masc.borrowed · built on pasaje, from Occitan or French passatge / passage

fem.: pasajera

French

passager

/pasaʒe/

masc.inherited

fem.: passagère

Italian

passeggero

/passedˈdʒɛro/

masc.borrowed · probably Old Occitan passatgier

fem.: passeggera

Portuguese

passageiro

/pasaˈʒejɾu/

masc.borrowed · built on passagem, from French passage

Romanian

pasager

/pasaˈdʒer/

masc.borrowed · French passager

Catalan

passatger

/pəsədˈʒe/

masc.inherited

Built natively on passatge, with the Catalan -atge from -ĀTICUM (as in viatge).

English

passenger

/ˈpæsəndʒɚ/

from Latin/French · Old French passager

The n is intrusive, as in messenger.

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

The Latin ancestor

*PASSĀRE (from PASSUM 'step')‘to pass’

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

The story

A passenger was first someone 'passing through'. The word spread from French and Occitan passage; Italian -ero instead of native -aio betrays the loan.

English relatives: pass, passage, passport

Sound laws at work

-ĀRIUM: -ero, -ier, -aio

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In a sentence

esTodos los pasajeros deben mostrar su billete.
frTous les passagers doivent montrer leur billet.
itTutti i passeggeri devono mostrare il biglietto.
ptTodos os passageiros devem mostrar a passagem.
roToți pasagerii trebuie să-și arate biletul.
caTots els passatgers han d'ensenyar el bitllet.
enAll passengers must show their tickets.

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