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"ray (of light)" in seven languages

Meaningray (of light)

Spanish

rayo

/ˈraʝo/

masc.inherited

Also 'lightning bolt'.

French

rayon

/ʁɛjɔ̃/

masc.inherited

Formed on old rai; also 'shelf' and 'department' in a shop.

Italian

raggio

/ˈraddʒo/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

raio

/ˈhaju/

masc.inherited

Raio is also 'lightning bolt'.

Romanian

rază

/ˈrazə/

fem.inherited

Feminine, from the spoken-Latin form RADIA.

Catalan

raig

/ratʃ/

masc.inherited

English

ray

/ɹeɪ/

from Latin/French · Old French rai, from Latin RADIUS

English → Italianray (of light)raggioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

RADIUM‘rod, spoke of a wheel, ray’

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

The story

D before a y-sound melted three ways: Spanish y, French y-glide, Italian gg. The learned branch kept the Latin shape: radio, radius.

English relatives: radius, radio, radiate, radiant

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In a sentence

  • esUn rayo de sol entraba por la ventana.
  • frUn rayon de soleil entrait par la fenêtre.
  • itUn raggio di sole entrava dalla finestra.
  • ptUm raio de sol entrava pela janela.
  • roO rază de soare intra pe fereastră.
  • caUn raig de sol entrava per la finestra.
  • enA ray of sunlight came through the window.

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