Skip to content

"politician" in seven languages

Meaningpolitician

Spanish

político

/poˈlitiko/

masc.learned

The same word is the adjective 'political'; a woman is una política.

French

politicien

/pɔlitisjɛ̃/

masc.learned

Often slightly pejorative; the neutral term is homme / femme politique.

Italian

politico

/poˈlitiko/

masc.learned

Portuguese

político

/poˈlitʃiku/

masc.learned

As in Spanish, the adjective doubles as the noun; a woman is uma política.

Romanian

politician

/politiˈtʃjan/

masc.borrowed · French politicien

Catalan

polític

/puˈlitik/

masc.learned

English

politician

/pɑləˈtɪʃən/

from Latin/French · English politic + -ian, from Latin POLĪTICUS (Greek politikós)

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

The Latin ancestor

POLĪTICUM‘of the citizens, of the state (from Greek politikós)’

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

The story

All four go back to Greek pólis 'city-state' through learned Latin. Spanish and Italian simply use the adjective as a noun; French and English added a suffix.

English relatives: politics, political, policy, police

Learn it

Practice the Work & money deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esMucha gente no se fía de los políticos.
  • frBeaucoup de gens ne font pas confiance aux hommes politiques.
  • itMolte persone non si fidano dei politici.
  • ptMuita gente não confia nos políticos.
  • roMulți oameni nu au încredere în politicieni.
  • caMolta gent no es fia dels polítics.
  • enMany people don't trust politicians.

More words from the same Latin

More in Work & money

All Work & money words