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"security, safety" in seven languages

Meaningsecurity, safety

Spanish

seguridad

/seguɾiˈdad/

fem.inherited

Covers security, safety and certainty alike.

French

sécurité

/sekyʁite/

fem.learned

The inherited doublet is sûreté, kept in set uses.

Italian

sicurezza

/sikuˈrettsa/

fem.other source · Italian sicuro (Latin SĒCŪRUS) + suffix -ezza

Portuguese

segurança

/seɡuˈɾɐ̃sɐ/

fem.other source · Portuguese seguro (Latin SĒCŪRUM) + suffix -ança

Romanian

securitate

/sekuriˈtate/

fem.learned

With a capital, Securitatea was the communist secret police; for airport checks people say controlul de securitate.

Catalan

seguretat

/səɡuɾəˈtat/

fem.inherited

English

security

/sɪˈkjʊɹəti/

from Latin/French · Latin sēcūritās (partly via Old French)

English → Italiansecurity, safetysicurezzaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: secure, sure, assure, insurance.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SĒCŪRITĀTEM‘freedom from care (SĒ- 'without' + CŪRA 'care')’

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

The story

Latin for 'free from care'. Spanish seguridad shows popular wear (c → g, -TĀTEM → -dad); French sécurité is the learned copy beside inherited sûreté; Italian built its noun on sicuro with -ezza.

English relatives: secure, sure, assure, insurance

Sound laws at work

-TĀTEM: -dad, -té, -tàVoiceless stops between vowels soften

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In a sentence

  • esLa seguridad en el aeropuerto es muy estricta.
  • frLa sécurité à l'aéroport est très stricte.
  • itI controlli di sicurezza in aeroporto sono molto severi.
  • ptA segurança no aeroporto é muito rígida.
  • roControlul de securitate de pe aeroport este foarte strict.
  • caLa seguretat a l'aeroport és molt estricta.
  • enSecurity at the airport is very strict.

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