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"subject (at school)" in seven languages

Meaningsubject (at school)

Spanish

asignatura

/asignaˈtuɾa/

fem.other source · learned Latin ASSIGNĀRE 'to allot'

Also materia.

French

matière

/matjɛʁ/

fem.learned

Italian

materia

/maˈtɛrja/

fem.learned

Portuguese

matéria

/maˈtɛɾjɐ/

fem.learned

Romanian

materie

/maˈterie/

fem.learned

Catalan

assignatura

/əsiŋnəˈtuɾə/

fem.other source · Latin ASSIGNĀRE 'to allot' (learned)

English

subject

/ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/

other source · Old French suget (Latin SUBJECTUM)

English → Italiansubject (at school)materiaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: matter, material.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

MĀTERIAM‘timber, raw stuff (from MĀTER: the 'mother' wood of a tree)’

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

The story

Your school subjects are your 'materials'. Spanish also inherited the same word as madera 'wood', and French as madrier 'beam' — the original meaning.

English relatives: matter, material

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esMi asignatura favorita es historia.
  • frMa matière préférée, c'est l'histoire.
  • itLa mia materia preferita è storia.
  • ptMinha matéria favorita é história.
  • roMateria mea preferată e istoria.
  • caLa meva assignatura preferida és la història.
  • enMy favourite subject is history.

The Latin family

PATR-, MĀTR-· father, mother

PATREM and MĀTREM are near-perfect cognates in Spanish and Italian (padre, madre) and lose the middle in French (père, mère). Their derivatives make good doublets: Spanish padrón 'census roll' and Italian padrone 'owner' beside learned patrón/patrono, and — probably — Spanish madera 'wood' beside learned materia 'matter'. Portuguese pai, mãe and Catalan pare, mare wear the words down further; Romanian replaced both with nursery words, tată and mamă.

  • PATREM (nom. PATER)father

    espadrefrpèreitpadreptpaicapare

  • MĀTREM (nom. MĀTER)mother

    esmadrefrmèreitmadreptmãecamare

  • PATERNUMfatherly

    espaternofrpaternelitpaternoptpaternoropaterncapaternenpaternal

  • MĀTERNUMmotherly

    esmaternofrmaternelitmaternoptmaternoromaterncamaternenmaternal

  • PATRŌNUMprotector, patron

    espatrónfrpatronitpadroneptpatrãoropatroncapatróenpatron

  • COMPATREMco-father, godfather

    escompadrefrcompèreitcompareptcompadrerocumătrucacompare

  • MĀTERIAMtimber; matter

    esmaderafrmatièreitmateriaptmadeiraromateriecamatèriaenmatter

  • PATRIAMfatherland

    espatriafrpatrieitpatriaptpátriaropatriecapàtria

Explore all Latin families

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