"reason" in seven languages
Meaningreason
Spanish
/raˈθon/
fem.inherited
Tener razón 'to be right'.
French
/ʁɛzɔ̃/
fem.inherited
Avoir raison 'to be right'.
Italian
/raˈdʒone/
fem.inherited
Avere ragione 'to be right'.
Portuguese
/haˈzɐ̃w/
fem.inherited
Ter razão 'to be right'; the learned doublet is ração 'ration'.
Romanian
/ratsiˈune/
fem.learned
'To be right' is a avea dreptate (literally 'to have justice'): ai dreptate.
Catalan
/rəˈo/
fem.inherited
Catalan dropped final -n after the stressed vowel: RATIŌNEM → raó. Tenir raó 'to be right'.
English
/ˈɹizən/
from Latin/French · Old French raison
The Latin ancestor
RATIŌNEM‘reckoning, account; reason’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A textbook doublet: the inherited razón / raison / ragione beside the learned ración / ration / razione, 'a portion' — the same Latin RATIŌNEM taken twice, once by mouth and once from the page.
English relatives: reason, ratio, ration, rational
Learn it
In a sentence
- esTienes razón.
- frTu as raison.
- itHai ragione.
- ptVocê tem razão.
- roAi dreptate.
- caTens raó.
- enYou're right.
The Latin family
RAT-, RATIŌN-· reckon, reason
RATIŌNEM meant 'a reckoning, an account' and then 'reason'. Spoken Latin wore it down to razón, raison, ragione (and English reason, through French); scholars later borrowed it back with its bookkeeping sense intact as ración, ration, razione — an 'allotted share'. Portuguese razão and Catalan raó (which drops the final n) are inherited too; Romanian lost the word and borrowed rațiune and rație from the learned side.
RATIŌNEMreckoning; reason
esrazónfrraisonitragioneptrazãocaraóenreason
RATIŌNEMallotted share (learned)
esraciónfrrationitrazioneptraçãororațiecaracióenration
RATIŌNĀLEMendowed with reason
esracionalfrrationnelitrazionaleptracionalroraționalcaracionalenrational
RATIŌNĀBILEMreasonable
esrazonablefrraisonnableitragionevoleptrazoávelrorezonabilcaraonableenreasonable