"slave" in seven languages
Meaningslave
Spanish
/esˈklabo/
masc.learned
fem.: esclava
French
/ɛsklav/
masc.learned
Same form for both sexes: un esclave, une esclave.
Italian
/ˈskjavo/
masc.inherited
fem.: schiava
Portuguese
/isˈkɾavu/
masc.inherited
Portuguese often turned cl into cr, as in cravo ← CLĀVUM 'nail'.
Romanian
/sklav/
masc.borrowed · Modern Greek sklávos and Italian schiavo
Catalan
/əsˈklaw/
masc.inherited
English
/sleɪv/
from Latin/French · Old French esclave, Medieval Latin SCLAVUM
The Latin ancestor
SCLAVUM (Medieval Latin)‘Slav; hence captive’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Medieval Latin SCLAVUS 'Slav' came to mean 'captive' because so many people sold in the medieval Mediterranean were Slavs. Venetian s-ciavo 'your servant' became the greeting ciao.
English relatives: Slav, Slavic
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEspartaco encabezó una rebelión de esclavos.
- frSpartacus a mené une révolte d'esclaves.
- itSpartaco guidò una rivolta di schiavi.
- ptEspártaco liderou uma revolta de escravos.
- roSpartacus a condus o revoltă a sclavilor.
- caEspàrtac va encapçalar una revolta d'esclaus.
- enSpartacus led a revolt of the slaves.