"slow" in seven languages
Meaningslow
Spanish
lento
/ˈlento/
inherited
French
lent
/lɑ̃/
inherited
Italian
lento
/ˈlɛnto/
inherited
Portuguese
lento
/ˈlẽtu/
inherited
The everyday adverb is devagar 'slowly'.
Romanian
lent
/lent/
borrowed · French lent
The native word is încet 'slow, quiet'.
Catalan
lent
/len/
inherited
English
slow
/sloʊ/
native English · Old English slāw
English → ItalianslowlentoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: lento (music), relent.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
LENTUM‘pliant, sluggish’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A pure cognate set; French simply dropped the final vowel and nasalized en. Musicians know it from Italian: lento.
English relatives: lento (music), relent
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esInternet va muy lento hoy.
- frInternet est très lent aujourd'hui.
- itInternet è molto lento oggi.
- ptA internet está muito lenta hoje.
- roInternetul e foarte lent azi.
- caInternet va molt lent avui.
- enThe internet is very slow today.