"sky" in seven languages
Meaningsky
Spanish
cielo
/ˈθjelo/
masc.inherited
French
ciel
/sjɛl/
masc.inherited
plural: cieux
Plural cieux in the sense 'heavens'; ciels for skies in paintings.
Italian
cielo
/ˈtʃɛlo/
masc.inherited
The i is only spelling: it is said [ˈtʃɛlo], with no diphthong.
Portuguese
céu
/sɛw/
masc.inherited
Romanian
cer
/tʃer/
neut.inherited
Intervocalic -l- became -r- before the ending fell: CAELUM → cer.
Catalan
cel
/sɛl/
masc.inherited
English
sky
/skaɪ/
other source · Old Norse ský 'cloud'
English → ItalianskycieloNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: celestial.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CAELUM‘sky, heaven’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin AE became an open e, which Spanish and French broke into ie; the same word means both 'sky' and 'heaven' in all three.
English relatives: celestial
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl cielo está despejado.
- frLe ciel est dégagé.
- itIl cielo è sereno.
- ptO céu está limpo.
- roCerul e senin.
- caEl cel és serè.
- enThe sky is clear.