"system" in seven languages
Meaningsystem
Spanish
sistema
/sisˈtema/
masc.learned
French
système
/sistɛm/
masc.learned
Italian
sistema
/sisˈtɛma/
masc.learned
Portuguese
sistema
/sisˈtemɐ/
masc.learned
Romanian
sistem
/sisˈtem/
neut.borrowed · French système
Catalan
sistema
/sisˈtemə/
masc.learned
English
system
/ˈsɪstəm/
from Latin/French · Late Latin systēma (from Greek)
English → ItaliansystemsistemaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SYSTĒMA‘an organized whole (from Greek sýstēma)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Greek neuters in -ma stay masculine despite the -a: el sistema, il sistema, like el problema and il problema. Latin y became plain i in Spanish and Italian.
English relatives: systematic, systemic
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl sistema no funciona.
- frLe système ne marche pas.
- itIl sistema non funziona.
- ptO sistema não funciona.
- roSistemul nu funcționează.
- caEl sistema no funciona.
- enThe system doesn't work.