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"slightly" in seven languages

Meaningslightly

Spanish

ligeramente

/lixeɾaˈmente/

borrowed · Old French legier 'light'

Un poco is the everyday choice: un poco cansado.

French

légèrement

/leʒɛʁmɑ̃/

inherited

Italian

leggermente

/leddʒerˈmente/

borrowed · Old French legier 'light'

Portuguese

ligeiramente

/liʒejɾaˈmẽtʃi/

borrowed · Old French legier 'light'

Um pouco is the everyday choice.

Romanian

ușor

/uˈʃor/

other source · of disputed origin

Also 'light' and 'easy'; puțin 'a little' is just as common.

Catalan

lleugerament

/ʎəwʒəɾəˈmen/

inherited

Lleuger shows Catalan's palatal ll- for Latin initial L-.

English

slightly

/ˈslaɪtli/

native English · English slight + -ly

English → ItalianslightlyleggermenteNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: levity, alleviate, lever.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*LEVIĀRIUM‘light in weight (from LEVIS)’

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

The story

In Romance, slightly is 'lightly': from spoken Latin *LEVIĀRIUS, a French word that Spanish (ligero) and Italian (leggero) borrowed.

English relatives: levity, alleviate, lever

Sound laws at work

Adverbs in -mente / -ment

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In a sentence

  • esEl precio subió ligeramente.
  • frLe prix a légèrement augmenté.
  • itIl prezzo è aumentato leggermente.
  • ptO preço subiu ligeiramente.
  • roPrețul a crescut ușor.
  • caEl preu ha pujat lleugerament.
  • enThe price rose slightly.

More words from the same Latin

More in Little words

All Little words words