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"shoe" in seven languages

Meaningshoe

Spanish

zapato

/θaˈpato/

masc.other source · of uncertain origin, perhaps from Turkish or Arabic; related to French savate and Italian ciabatta 'old slipper'

French

chaussure

/ʃosyʁ/

fem.inherited

From chausser 'to put on shoes'.

Italian

scarpa

/ˈskarpa/

fem.other source · probably Germanic *skarpa 'leather pouch'

Portuguese

sapato

/saˈpatu/

masc.other source · of uncertain origin; related to Spanish zapato

Romanian

pantof

/panˈtof/

masc.other source · French pantoufle 'slipper' (perhaps via German Pantoffel)

plural: pantofi

Catalan

sabata

/səˈbatə/

fem.other source · of uncertain origin; related to Spanish zapato

English

shoe

/ʃu/

native English · Old English scōh

English → ItalianshoescarpaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: calceolaria (the 'slipper flower').What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CALCEĀRE‘to put on shoes (from CALCEUS 'shoe')’

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

The story

Three unrelated words. Only French kept Latin CALCEUS, with ca → cha and l → u (chausser); Spain and Italy found new words — and the ciabatta bread is named after a slipper.

English relatives: calceolaria (the 'slipper flower')

Sound laws at work

French CA becomes chaL before a consonant becomes u

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esEstos zapatos me hacen daño.
  • frCes chaussures me font mal aux pieds.
  • itQueste scarpe mi fanno male ai piedi.
  • ptEsses sapatos machucam os meus pés.
  • roPantofii ăștia mă strâng.
  • caAquestes sabates em fan mal als peus.
  • enThese shoes hurt my feet.

More in Clothing

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