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"task" in seven languages

Meaningtask

Spanish

tarea

/taˈɾea/

fem.other source · Arabic ṭarīḥa 'assigned portion of work'

Also homework (also called deberes).

French

tâche

/taʃ/

fem.inherited

Not tache 'stain': the circumflex makes the difference.

Italian

compito

/ˈkompito/

masc.other source · compiere 'to complete' ← Latin COMPLĒRE

Also homework: i compiti.

Portuguese

tarefa

/taˈɾɛfɐ/

fem.other source · Arabic ṭarīḥa 'assigned portion of work'

Romanian

sarcină

/ˈsartʃinə/

fem.other source · of Slavic origin

It also means 'pregnancy' and 'electric charge'.

Catalan

tasca

/ˈtaskə/

fem.inherited

English

task

/tæsk/

from Latin/French · Old North French tasque

English → ItaliantaskcompitoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: tax, taxation.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

TASCA (Medieval Latin, from TAXĀRE)‘a tax, an assigned duty’

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

The story

A task was once a tax: a set amount of work owed. French tâche (circumflex for the lost s) and English task share the word; Spanish tarea is Arabic, Italian compito is 'what is to be completed'.

English relatives: tax, taxation

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

Learn it

Practice the Work & money deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esEs una tarea difícil.
  • frC'est une tâche difficile.
  • itÈ un compito difficile.
  • ptÉ uma tarefa difícil.
  • roEste o sarcină dificilă.
  • caÉs una tasca difícil.
  • enIt's a difficult task.

More in Work & money

All Work & money words