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"threat" in seven languages

Meaningthreat

Spanish

amenaza

/ameˈnaθa/

fem.inherited

The a- at the front was added in Spanish; older texts have menaza.

French

menace

/mənas/

fem.inherited

Italian

minaccia

/miˈnattʃa/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

ameaça

/ameˈasɐ/

fem.inherited

Portuguese lost the intervocalic -n-: *AMINACIA → ameaça, beside Spanish amenaza.

Romanian

amenințare

/ameninˈtsare/

fem.inherited

A noun built on amenința 'to threaten', from a Latin verb *MINĀCIĀRE.

Catalan

amenaça

/əməˈnasə/

fem.inherited

English

threat

/θɹɛt/

native English · Old English þrēat

English → ItalianthreatminacciaNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: menace, menacing.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

MINĀCIAM‘threat (MINĀCIAE 'threats')’

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

The story

English borrowed menace from French, so the Romance word is easy to spot. The ci before a vowel became Spanish z, French c and Italian cci.

English relatives: menace, menacing

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In a sentence

  • esLa contaminación es una amenaza para la salud.
  • frLa pollution est une menace pour la santé.
  • itL'inquinamento è una minaccia per la salute.
  • ptA poluição é uma ameaça à saúde.
  • roPoluarea este o amenințare pentru sănătate.
  • caLa contaminació és una amenaça per a la salut.
  • enPollution is a threat to health.

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