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"plot (of a story)" in seven languages

Meaningplot (of a story)

Spanish

trama

/ˈtɾama/

fem.inherited

Also argumento for a film's storyline.

French

intrigue

/ɛ̃tʁig/

fem.other source · Italian intrigo (Latin INTRICĀRE 'to entangle')

Italian

trama

/ˈtrama/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

trama

/ˈtɾɐ̃mɐ/

fem.inherited

Enredo 'entanglement' is just as common.

Romanian

intrigă

/ˈintrigə/

fem.other source · French intrigue, from Italian intrigo (Latin INTRICĀRE 'to entangle')

Catalan

trama

/ˈtɾamə/

fem.inherited

Catalan also says l'argument for the plot of a film or book.

English

plot

/plɑt/

native English · Old English plot 'patch of ground'

How the word came to mean a story's plan is unclear.

English → Italianplot (of a story)tramaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: intrigue, intricate (French and Italian intrigue family).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

TRĀMAM‘weft (the cross-threads of a weave)’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian see a story as a weave: trama is the weft threaded through the loom. French sees a tangle: intrigue.

English relatives: intrigue, intricate (French and Italian intrigue family)

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In a sentence

  • esLa trama de la película es complicada.
  • frL'intrigue du film est compliquée.
  • itLa trama del film è complicata.
  • ptA trama do filme é complicada.
  • roIntriga filmului e complicată.
  • caLa trama de la pel·lícula és complicada.
  • enThe plot of the film is complicated.

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