"thorn" in seven languages
Meaningthorn
Spanish
espina
/esˈpina/
fem.inherited
Also a fishbone; the spine is la columna or espina dorsal.
French
épine
/epin/
fem.inherited
The spine is l'épine dorsale.
Italian
spina
/ˈspina/
fem.inherited
Also an electric plug.
Portuguese
espinho
/isˈpiɲu/
masc.inherited
Masculine, from SPĪNUM; espinha (from SPĪNAM) is a fishbone or a pimple.
Romanian
spin
/spin/
masc.inherited
plural: spini
Masculine, from SPĪNUS 'blackthorn'.
Catalan
espina
/əsˈpinə/
fem.inherited
Also punxa, a prickle.
English
thorn
/θɔɹn/
native English · Old English þorn
English → ItalianthornspinaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: spine, spinal, porcupine.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SPĪNAM‘thorn, spine’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A spine is a row of thorns. English porcupine is Old French porc espin, the 'thorny pig'. Portuguese espinho turned the single n into nh.
English relatives: spine, spinal, porcupine
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo hay rosa sin espinas.
- frIl n'y a pas de rose sans épines.
- itNon c'è rosa senza spine.
- ptNão há rosa sem espinhos.
- roNu există trandafir fără spini.
- caNo hi ha rosa sense espines.
- enThere's no rose without thorns.