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"scene" in seven languages

Meaningscene

Spanish

escena

/esˈθena/

fem.learned

French

scène

/sɛn/

fem.learned

Also 'stage': monter sur scène.

Italian

scena

/ˈʃɛna/

fem.learned

Portuguese

cena

/ˈsenɐ/

fem.learned

Romanian

scenă

/ˈstsenə/

fem.learned

Catalan

escena

/əsˈsɛnə/

fem.learned

English

scene

/sin/

from Latin/French · French scène, from Latin

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

Watch out: false friends

  • cena (Spanish) means “dinner, supper” · cena (Portuguese) means “scene”

    Coincidence of spelling. Portuguese cena is learned, from SCAENAM 'stage'; Spanish cena is inherited from CĒNAM 'dinner'. Portuguese's own CĒNAM is ceia 'supper' (a Santa Ceia, the Last Supper).

All false friends

The Latin ancestor

SCAENAM‘stage, backdrop (Greek skēnḗ 'tent, hut')’

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

The story

The Greek skēnḗ was the hut behind the stage where actors changed. Spanish adds its usual e- before s + consonant even in this learned word (escena).

English relatives: scenery, scenario, scenic

Sound laws at work

S + consonant at the start of a word

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In a sentence

  • esLa última escena de la película es muy triste.
  • frLa dernière scène du film est très triste.
  • itL'ultima scena del film è molto triste.
  • ptA última cena do filme é muito triste.
  • roUltima scenă a filmului este foarte tristă.
  • caL'última escena de la pel·lícula és molt trista.
  • enThe last scene of the film is very sad.

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