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"storm" in seven languages

Meaningstorm

Spanish

tormenta

/toɾˈmenta/

fem.other source · Latin TORMENTA, plural of TORMENTUM 'torture, siege engine'

Tempestad (from TEMPESTĀTEM) exists too, mostly for storms at sea.

French

tempête

/tɑ̃pɛt/

fem.inherited

Italian

tempesta

/temˈpɛsta/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

tempestade

/tẽpesˈtadʒi/

fem.inherited

From the Classical TEMPESTĀTEM, which Portuguese kept in full.

Romanian

furtună

/furˈtunə/

fem.other source · Latin FORTŪNAM 'fortune, (bad) luck' (inherited)

Catalan

tempesta

/təmˈpɛstə/

fem.inherited

English

storm

/stɔɹm/

native English · Old English storm

English → ItalianstormtempestaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: tempest, tempestuous.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*TEMPESTAM (Classical TEMPESTĀTEM)‘weather, storm (from TEMPUS 'time')’

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

The story

A storm is just 'the weather' at its worst: TEMPESTĀS comes from TEMPUS. Spanish went its own way and calls a storm a 'torment'.

English relatives: tempest, tempestuous

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

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In a sentence

  • esSe acerca una tormenta.
  • frUne tempête approche.
  • itSta arrivando una tempesta.
  • ptVem aí uma tempestade.
  • roSe apropie o furtună.
  • caS'acosta una tempesta.
  • enA storm is coming.

More in Nature & weather

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