"style" in seven languages
Meaningstyle
Spanish
estilo
/esˈtilo/
masc.learned
French
style
/stil/
masc.learned
Italian
stile
/ˈstile/
masc.learned
lo stile
Portuguese
estilo
/isˈtʃilu/
masc.learned
Romanian
stil
/stil/
neut.learned
Catalan
estil
/əsˈtil/
masc.learned
English
style
/staɪl/
from Latin/French · Old French stile
The y crept in through a false link with Greek stŷlos 'pillar'.
English → ItalianstylestileCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
STILUM‘pointed writing stick (stylus)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A STILUS was the stick for writing on wax, so 'style' first meant a way of writing. Spanish props up the initial s with an e (estilo), as with escuela.
English relatives: stylus, stiletto, stylish
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esMe gusta tu estilo.
- frJ'aime ton style.
- itMi piace il tuo stile.
- ptGosto do seu estilo.
- roÎmi place stilul tău.
- caM'agrada el teu estil.
- enI like your style.