"special" in seven languages
Meaningspecial
Spanish
especial
/espeˈθjal/
learned
French
spécial
/spesjal/
learned
Italian
speciale
/speˈtʃale/
learned
Portuguese
especial
/espesiˈaw/
learned
Romanian
special
/spetʃiˈal/
borrowed · French spécial
Catalan
especial
/əspəsiˈal/
learned
English
special
/ˈspɛʃəl/
from Latin/French · Old French especial, from Latin
English → ItalianspecialspecialeCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SPECIĀLEM‘of a particular kind (from SPECIĒS 'kind, look')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish cannot start a word with s + consonant, so it adds an e: especial. English 'especially' still carries the e that Old French had too.
English relatives: especially, species, specific, specialist
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esHoy es un día especial.
- frAujourd'hui, c'est un jour spécial.
- itOggi è un giorno speciale.
- ptHoje é um dia especial.
- roAzi e o zi specială.
- caAvui és un dia especial.
- enToday is a special day.
More words from the same Latin
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