"potato" in seven languages
Meaningpotato
Spanish
/paˈtata/
fem.borrowed · blend of Taíno batata 'sweet potato' and Quechua papa 'potato'
In Latin America and the Canaries: papa.
French
/pɔm də tɛʁ/
fem.other source · French compound 'apple of the earth'
Colloquially patate.
Italian
/paˈtata/
fem.borrowed · Spanish patata
Portuguese
/baˈtatɐ/
fem.borrowed · Taíno batata, through Spanish
Romanian
/karˈtof/
masc.other source · German Kartoffel (from Italian tartufolo 'truffle')
plural: cartofi
Catalan
/pəˈtatə/
fem.borrowed · Spanish patata
English
/pəˈteɪtoʊ/
from Latin/French · Spanish patata
plural: potatoes
The ancestor
Taíno batata × Quechua papa‘sweet potato × potato’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish fused two American words, one for the sweet potato and one for the potato, and passed the result to Italian (and English). French described it instead: an apple of the earth.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esPara mí, patatas fritas.
- frPour moi, des frites.
- itPer me, patatine fritte.
- ptPara mim, batata frita.
- roPentru mine, cartofi prăjiți.
- caPer a mi, patates fregides.
- enI'll have the chips (fries).