"south" in seven languages
Meaningsouth
Spanish
sur
/suɾ/
masc.borrowed · Old French sud
French
sud
/syd/
masc.borrowed · Old English sūþ
Italian
sud
/sud/
masc.borrowed · French sud
The Italian South is also il Mezzogiorno, 'midday'.
Portuguese
sul
/suw/
masc.borrowed · French sud or Spanish sur (the route is debated)
Romanian
sud
/sud/
neut.borrowed · French sud
Catalan
sud
/sut/
masc.borrowed · French sud
Catalan also says migdia ('midday') for the south.
English
south
/saʊθ/
from Latin/French · Old English sūþ (English is the source)
English → ItaliansouthsudCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The ancestor
Old English sūþ‘south’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The compass words came from the North Sea: French took nord, sud, est, ouest from Old English, and passed them on to Spanish and Italian.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esSevilla está en el sur de España.
- frSéville est dans le sud de l'Espagne.
- itSiviglia è nel sud della Spagna.
- ptSevilha fica no sul da Espanha.
- roSevilla se află în sudul Spaniei.
- caSevilla és al sud d'Espanya.
- enSeville is in the south of Spain.