"sand" in seven languages
Meaningsand
Spanish
arena
/aˈɾena/
fem.other source · Latin (H)ARĒNAM 'sand'
French
sable
/sabl/
masc.inherited
Italian
sabbia
/ˈsabbja/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
areia
/aˈɾejɐ/
fem.other source · Latin (H)ARĒNAM 'sand'
Portuguese lost the intervocalic -n-: ARĒNAM → areia.
Romanian
nisip
/niˈsip/
neut.other source · Slavic (cf. Old Church Slavonic nasypati 'to pour on')
Catalan
sorra
/ˈsorə/
fem.other source · Latin SABURRAM 'ballast sand'
English
sand
/sænd/
native English · Old English sand
English → ItaliansandsabbiaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: arena (from HARĒNA: the sanded floor of the amphitheatre).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SABULUM‘coarse sand, gravel’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin had two words and the sisters split them: Spanish kept HARĒNA (whose sanded floor gave English arena), French and Italian kept SABULUM.
English relatives: arena (from HARĒNA: the sanded floor of the amphitheatre)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa arena quema.
- frLe sable est brûlant.
- itLa sabbia scotta.
- ptA areia está muito quente.
- roNisipul e fierbinte.
- caLa sorra crema.
- enThe sand is very hot.