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"survey, poll" in seven languages

Meaningsurvey, poll

Spanish

encuesta

/enˈkwesta/

fem.borrowed · French enquête

French

enquête

/ɑ̃kɛt/

fem.inherited

Also a police investigation; an opinion poll is a sondage.

Italian

sondaggio

/sonˈdaddʒo/

masc.other source · French sondage 'sounding, probe'

Portuguese

pesquisa

/pesˈkizɐ/

fem.other source · Latin PERQUĪSĪTAM 'searched through'

Pesquisa is also 'research'; enquete (from French) is used for quick polls.

Romanian

sondaj

/sonˈdaʒ/

neut.other source · French sondage 'sounding, probe'

Catalan

enquesta

/əŋˈkɛstə/

fem.borrowed · French enquête

English

survey

/ˈsɝveɪ/

other source · Anglo-French surveier 'to oversee', from Medieval Latin SUPERVIDĒRE

English → Italiansurvey, pollsondaggioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: inquest, inquiry, question.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*INQUAESĪTAM (spoken Latin)‘a thing inquired into (INQUĪRERE)’

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

The story

French enquête lost the s of older enqueste and marks it with ^; Spanish borrowed the word with the s intact. Italian took a different French word, sondage, 'sounding the depths'.

English relatives: inquest, inquiry, question

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

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In a sentence

  • esHicimos una encuesta a nuestros clientes.
  • frNous avons fait une enquête auprès de nos clients.
  • itAbbiamo fatto un sondaggio tra i nostri clienti.
  • ptFizemos uma pesquisa com nossos clientes.
  • roAm făcut un sondaj printre clienții noștri.
  • caVam fer una enquesta als nostres clients.
  • enWe did a survey of our customers.

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