"short (in length)" in seven languages
Meaningshort (in length)
Spanish
corto
/ˈkoɾto/
inherited
A short person is bajo.
French
court
/kuʁ/
inherited
A short person is petit.
Italian
corto
/ˈkorto/
inherited
A short person is basso.
Portuguese
curto
/ˈkuhtu/
inherited
Romanian
scurt
/skurt/
inherited
From a prefixed spoken form *EXCURTUS, hence the s-.
Catalan
curt
/kurt/
inherited
English
short
/ʃɔɹt/
native English · Old English sceort
English → Italianshort (in length)cortoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: curt, curtail.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CURTUM‘cut short, docked’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
CURTUS meant 'docked, mutilated' before it meant simply 'short'. For people, every sister uses a different word: bajo, petit, basso.
English relatives: curt, curtail
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEn invierno los días son cortos.
- frEn hiver, les jours sont courts.
- itD'inverno le giornate sono corte.
- ptNo inverno os dias são curtos.
- roIarna zilele sunt scurte.
- caA l'hivern els dies són curts.
- enThe days are short in winter.