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"spiritual" in seven languages

Meaningspiritual

Spanish

espiritual

/espiɾiˈtwal/

learned

French

spirituel

/spiʁitɥɛl/

learned

fem.: spirituelle

Also 'witty': un homme spirituel is funny, not necessarily devout.

Italian

spirituale

/spiriˈtwale/

learned

Portuguese

espiritual

/ispiɾituˈaw/

learned

Romanian

spiritual

/spirituˈal/

learned

Catalan

espiritual

/əspiɾituˈal/

learned

English

spiritual

/ˈspɪɹɪtʃuəl/

from Latin/French · Old French spirituel / Latin SPĪRITUĀLIS

English → ItalianspiritualspiritualeCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SPĪRITUĀLEM‘of breath, of the spirit’

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

The story

SPĪRITUS was 'breath' before it was 'soul'. Spanish puts its e- before s + consonant even in learned words; French learned words keep sp- (compare inherited épée).

English relatives: spirit, inspire, respiration

Sound laws at work

Learn it

In a sentence

  • esPasó por una crisis espiritual.
  • frIl a traversé une crise spirituelle.
  • itHa attraversato una crisi spirituale.
  • ptEle passou por uma crise espiritual.
  • roA trecut printr-o criză spirituală.
  • caVa passar per una crisi espiritual.
  • enHe went through a spiritual crisis.

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