"teacher (primary school)" in seven languages

Meaningteacher (primary school)

Spanish

maestro

/maˈestɾo/

masc.inherited

fem.: maestra

A secondary-school teacher is a profesor / una profesora.

French

maître

/mɛtʁ/

masc.inherited

fem.: maîtresse

The official title today is professeur des écoles; children still say maître and maîtresse.

Italian

maestro

/maˈestro/

masc.inherited

fem.: maestra

In secondary school it is il professore / la professoressa.

Portuguese

professor

/pɾofeˈsoh/

masc.other source · Latin PROFESSŌREM (learned)

fem.: professora

Used at every level; small children often call the teacher tia. Mestre (MAGISTRUM) means 'master'.

Romanian

învățător

/ɨnvətsəˈtor/

masc.other source · Romanian învăța 'to teach' (Latin *INVITIĀRE) + -ător

fem.: învățătoare

From the fifth grade up, a teacher is a profesor / profesoară.

Catalan

mestre

/ˈmɛstɾə/

masc.inherited

fem.: mestra

English

teacher

/ˈtitʃɚ/

native English · Old English tǣcan + -er

Borrowed 'master' is the shared word.

English → Italianteacher (primary school)maestroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: master, mister, magistrate, maestro.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

MAGISTRUM‘master, chief, teacher’

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

The story

All three lost the g of MAGISTRUM; French also lost the s and marks it with a circumflex: maître. English took the same word twice — master from French, maestro from Italian.

English relatives: master, mister, magistrate, maestro

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

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In a sentence

esLa maestra lee un cuento.
frLa maîtresse lit une histoire.
itLa maestra legge una storia.
ptA professora lê uma história.
roÎnvățătoarea citește o poveste.
caLa mestra llegeix un conte.
enThe teacher reads a story.

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