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"property (what one owns)" in seven languages

Meaningproperty (what one owns)

Spanish

propiedad

/pɾopjeˈdad/

fem.learned

The second r was dropped to avoid r…r (dissimilation).

French

propriété

/pʁɔpʁijete/

fem.learned

Also a country estate: une propriété.

Italian

proprietà

/proprjeˈta/

fem.learned

plural: proprietà

Portuguese

propriedade

/pɾopɾjeˈdadʒi/

fem.learned

Romanian

proprietate

/proprieˈtate/

fem.learned

Catalan

propietat

/pɾupiəˈtat/

fem.learned

English

property

/ˈpɹɑpɚti/

from Latin/French · Old French propriete

English → Italianproperty (what one owns)proprietàCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

PROPRIETĀTEM‘ownership, a peculiar quality (from PROPRIUS 'one's own')’

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

The story

Same Latin word, same -TĀTEM ending (-dad, -té, -tà). English kept two copies: property and propriety, the second meaning 'what is proper'.

English relatives: proper, property, propriety, proprietor, appropriate

Sound laws at work

-TĀTEM: -dad, -té, -tà

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In a sentence

  • esEste terreno es propiedad privada.
  • frCe terrain est une propriété privée.
  • itQuesto terreno è proprietà privata.
  • ptEste terreno é propriedade privada.
  • roAcest teren este proprietate privată.
  • caAquest terreny és propietat privada.
  • enThis land is private property.

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