"peace" in seven languages
Meaningpeace
Spanish
paz
/paθ/
fem.inherited
plural: paces
French
paix
/pɛ/
fem.inherited
Italian
pace
/ˈpatʃe/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
paz
/pas/
fem.inherited
Romanian
pace
/ˈpatʃe/
fem.inherited
Catalan
pau
/paw/
fem.inherited
The soft c of PĀCEM became a u glide at the end of the word, as in veu from VŌCEM.
English
peace
/pis/
from Latin/French · Old French pais
English → ItalianpeacepaceCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PĀCEM‘peace, treaty’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
One word, three fates for the soft c: Spanish θ, French a silent x, Italian tʃ. Spanish dropped the final -e after z; Italian kept it. To pay (PĀCĀRE) was to pacify a creditor.
English relatives: peace, pacify, pact, pay
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esDéjame en paz.
- frLaisse-moi en paix.
- itLasciami in pace.
- ptMe deixa em paz.
- roLasă-mă în pace.
- caDeixa'm en pau.
- enLeave me in peace.