"smooth" in seven languages
Meaningsmooth
Spanish
liso
/ˈliso/
inherited
Also straight (hair) and plain (fabric); smooth skin is suave.
French
lisse
/lis/
inherited
Italian
liscio
/ˈliʃʃo/
inherited
Also straight (hair) and neat (a drink).
Portuguese
liso
/ˈlizu/
inherited
Also straight (hair).
Romanian
neted
/ˈneted/
other source · Latin NITIDUM 'gleaming'
fem.: netedă
Catalan
llis
/ʎis/
inherited
Also straight (hair).
English
smooth
/smuð/
native English · Old English smōþ
English → ItaliansmoothliscioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
*lis- (Western Romance, origin disputed)‘smooth’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Liso, lisse, liscio, liso and llis are clearly one word, but nobody agrees where it comes from (Greek lissós 'smooth' is one guess). Romanian neted is Latin NITIDUS 'gleaming', the source of English neat.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl agua del río ha dejado la piedra lisa.
- frL'eau de la rivière a rendu la pierre lisse.
- itL'acqua del fiume ha reso liscia la pietra.
- ptA água do rio deixou a pedra lisa.
- roApa râului a făcut piatra netedă.
- caL'aigua del riu ha deixat la pedra llisa.
- enThe river water has made the stone smooth.