"satellite" in seven languages
Meaningsatellite
Spanish
satélite
/saˈtelite/
masc.learned
French
satellite
/satelit/
masc.learned
Italian
satellite
/satˈtɛllite/
masc.learned
Portuguese
satélite
/saˈtɛlitʃi/
masc.learned
Romanian
satelit
/sateˈlit/
masc.learned
Catalan
satèl·lit
/səˈtɛlit/
masc.learned
English
satellite
/ˈsætəlaɪt/
from Latin/French · French satellite, from Latin SATELLITEM
English → ItaliansatellitesatelliteCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SATELLITEM‘bodyguard, attendant’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
In Latin a SATELLES was a ruler's bodyguard; astronomers of the 1600s borrowed it for the moons that escort a planet. Spanish has a single l, Italian doubles the t.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl satélite gira alrededor de la Tierra.
- frLe satellite tourne autour de la Terre.
- itIl satellite ruota intorno alla Terra.
- ptO satélite gira em torno da Terra.
- roSatelitul se rotește în jurul Pământului.
- caEl satèl·lit gira al voltant de la Terra.
- enThe satellite orbits the Earth.