"simple" in seven languages
Meaningsimple
Spanish
/ˈsimple/
learned
Before a noun it means 'mere': un simple error. 'Easy' is usually sencillo.
French
/sɛ̃pl/
learned
Italian
/ˈsemplitʃe/
inherited
Portuguese
/ˈsĩplis/
learned
Same form in singular and plural: um caso simples, dois casos simples.
Romanian
/ˈsimplu/
learned
Catalan
/sənˈziʎ/
other source · Latin *SINGELLUM, from SINGULUM 'single'
English
/ˈsɪmpəl/
from Latin/French · Old French simple
The Latin ancestor
SIMPLICEM (nom. SIMPLEX), also SIMPLUM‘single, plain, uncomplicated’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French and Spanish simple go back to SIMPLUS/SIMPLEX with the i kept, a semi-learned shape. Italian built semplice on the stem SIMPLIC-, with the popular change of i to e.
English relatives: simple, simplicity, simplify
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa receta es muy simple.
- frLa recette est très simple.
- itLa ricetta è molto semplice.
- ptA receita é muito simples.
- roRețeta e foarte simplă.
- caLa recepta és molt senzilla.
- enThe recipe is very simple.