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"side" in seven languages

Meaningside

Spanish

lado

/ˈlado/

masc.inherited

French

côté

/kote/

masc.other source · Vulgar Latin *COSTĀTUM 'flank', from COSTA 'rib'

Italian

lato

/ˈlato/

masc.inherited

For 'side, part' Italian often uses parte: dall'altra parte.

Portuguese

lado

/ˈladu/

masc.inherited

Romanian

latură

/ˈlaturə/

fem.inherited

Built on the Latin plural LATERA, reread as a feminine singular.

Catalan

costat

/kusˈtat/

masc.other source · spoken Latin *COSTĀTUM 'flank', from COSTA 'rib'

English

side

/saɪd/

native English · Old English sīde

English → ItaliansidelatoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: lateral, bilateral, collateral; coast, accost (from COSTA).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

LATUS (neuter)‘side, flank’

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

The story

Spanish softened the t of LATUS to d (lado), Italian kept it (lato). French named the side after the ribs: côté, whose circumflex marks the s of COSTA.

English relatives: lateral, bilateral, collateral; coast, accost (from COSTA)

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften

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In a sentence

  • esUn cuadrado tiene cuatro lados.
  • frUn carré a quatre côtés.
  • itUn quadrato ha quattro lati.
  • ptUm quadrado tem quatro lados.
  • roUn pătrat are patru laturi.
  • caUn quadrat té quatre costats.
  • enA square has four sides.

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