"summer" in seven languages
Meaningsummer
Spanish
/beˈɾano/
masc.other source · Vulgar Latin *VĒRĀNUM (tempus), from VĒR 'spring'
Old Spanish estío (from AESTĪVUM) survives in literature.
French
/ete/
masc.inherited
Italian
/esˈtate/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
/veˈɾɐ̃w/
masc.other source · Vulgar Latin *VĒRĀNUM (tempus), from VĒR 'spring'
Romanian
/ˈvarə/
fem.other source · Latin VĒR 'spring'
The Latin word for spring slid forward a season, as in Spanish verano.
Catalan
/əsˈtiw/
masc.other source · Latin AESTĪVUM (tempus) 'summery (season)', a derivative of AESTĀS
English
/ˈsʌmɚ/
native English · Old English sumor
Watch out: false friends
estate (English) means “property, land” · estate (Italian) means “summer”
Pure coincidence: Italian estate is Latin AESTĀTEM 'summer'; English estate is Old French estat, from STATUM 'condition'.
The Latin ancestor
AESTĀTEM (nom. AESTĀS)‘summer’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish summer is a stretched-out 'spring', a sign of how the seasons were once counted. French été lost both its s's, Italian estate kept them.
English relatives: estival, aestivation
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEn verano aquí hace mucho calor.
- frEn été, il fait très chaud ici.
- itD'estate qui fa molto caldo.
- ptNo verão faz muito calor aqui.
- roVara e foarte cald aici.
- caA l'estiu aquí fa molta calor.
- enIn summer it's very hot here.