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"reasonable" in seven languages

Meaningreasonable

Spanish

razonable

/raθoˈnable/

inherited

French

raisonnable

/ʁɛzɔnabl/

inherited

Italian

ragionevole

/radʒoˈnevole/

inherited

The gi of ragione (RATIŌNEM) is unusual for Tuscan; northern or Gallo-Romance influence is often suggested.

Portuguese

razoável

/hazoˈavew/

inherited

Portuguese lost the intervocalic -n-: RATIŌNĀBILEM → razoável.

Romanian

rezonabil

/rezoˈnabil/

borrowed · French raisonnable

Catalan

raonable

/rəuˈnablə/

inherited

English

reasonable

/ˈɹizənəbəl/

from Latin/French · Old French raisnable

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

The Latin ancestor

RATIŌNĀBILEM‘reasonable’

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

The story

Each sister fits the adjective to its own word for 'reason': razón, raison, ragione. English rational and ratio are the learned relatives.

English relatives: reason, rational, ratio

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In a sentence

  • esEs un precio razonable.
  • frC'est un prix raisonnable.
  • itÈ un prezzo ragionevole.
  • ptÉ um preço razoável.
  • roE un preț rezonabil.
  • caÉs un preu raonable.
  • enThat's a reasonable price.

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

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