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"second" in seven languages

Meaningsecond

Spanish

segundo

/seˈgundo/

inherited

French

second

/səgɔ̃/

inherited

fem.: seconde

Spelled with c but said [g]; everyday French often prefers deuxième.

Italian

secondo

/seˈkondo/

inherited

Portuguese

segundo

/seˈɡũdu/

inherited

Romanian

al doilea

/al ˈdojle̯a/

other source · Romanian doi 'two' (Latin DUŌS) with the ordinal article al … -lea

fem.: a doua

Romanian builds every ordinal from 'second' on from the cardinal: al doilea, al treilea.

Catalan

segon

/səˈɡon/

inherited

English

second

/ˈsɛkənd/

from Latin/French · Old French second

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

The Latin ancestor

SECUNDUM‘following (from SEQUĪ 'to follow')’

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

The story

'Second' is simply 'the one that follows'. The time unit is the 'second small part' of the hour, after the minute.

English relatives: second, sequel, sequence

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften

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In a sentence

  • esEstá en el segundo piso.
  • frC'est au deuxième étage.
  • itÈ al secondo piano.
  • ptFica no segundo andar.
  • roE la etajul al doilea.
  • caÉs al segon pis.
  • enIt's on the second floor.

More words from the same Latin

More in Numbers

All Numbers words