"sweet" in seven languages
Meaningsweet
Spanish
dulce
/ˈdulθe/
inherited
French
doux
/du/
inherited
fem.: douce
Mostly 'soft, gentle'; sweet in taste is often sucré.
Italian
dolce
/ˈdoltʃe/
inherited
Also the noun 'dessert': il dolce.
Portuguese
doce
/ˈdosi/
inherited
Romanian
dulce
/ˈdultʃe/
inherited
Catalan
dolç
/dols/
inherited
English
sweet
/swit/
native English · Old English swēte
Its Latin distant cognate is SUĀVIS, not DULCIS (PIE *swéh₂dus).
English → ItaliansweetdolceNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: dulcet, dulcimer.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
DULCEM‘sweet’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French vocalized the l (dulce → doux) and softened the sense to 'gentle'; the c before e shows the three outcomes θ, s, tʃ in dulce, douce, dolce.
English relatives: dulcet, dulcimer
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEste pastel es demasiado dulce.
- frCe gâteau est trop sucré.
- itQuesta torta è troppo dolce.
- ptEste bolo está doce demais.
- roPrăjitura asta e prea dulce.
- caAquest pastís és massa dolç.
- enThis cake is too sweet.