Skip to content

"shape" in seven languages

Meaningshape

Spanish

forma

/ˈfoɾma/

fem.learned

The inherited form is horma, a shoemaker's last.

French

forme

/fɔʁm/

fem.learned

Italian

forma

/ˈforma/

fem.inherited

A forma di formaggio is a whole wheel of cheese.

Portuguese

forma

/ˈfɔhmɐ/

fem.learned

With a close o, fôrma [ˈfohmɐ] is a baking tin or mould.

Romanian

formă

/ˈformə/

fem.learned

Catalan

forma

/ˈfɔɾmə/

fem.learned

English

shape

/ʃeɪp/

native English · Old English gesceap

The Latin word gave English form.

English → ItalianshapeformaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: form, format, formal, uniform.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

FŌRMAM‘shape, mould’

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

The story

Spanish keeps the book word forma for 'shape' and the worn-down horma, with F → h, for the mould a shoe is built on. Cheese is named after its mould too: Italian formaggio, French fromage.

English relatives: form, format, formal, uniform

Sound laws at work

Spanish initial F- becomes h- (silent)

Learn it

Practice the Ideas deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esLa mesa tiene forma redonda.
  • frLa table a une forme ronde.
  • itIl tavolo ha una forma rotonda.
  • ptA mesa tem forma redonda.
  • roMasa are o formă rotundă.
  • caLa taula té forma rodona.
  • enThe table has a round shape.

More in Ideas

All Ideas words