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"to arrest" in seven languages

Meaningto arrest

Spanish

detener

/deteˈneɾ/

other source · Latin DĒTINĒRE 'to hold back'

Arrestar exists but is less common; detener also means 'to stop'.

French

arrêter

/aʁete/

inherited

Also the everyday 'to stop': arrête !

Italian

arrestare

/arresˈtare/

inherited

Also 'to stop, halt' in formal use.

Portuguese

prender

/pɾẽˈdeh/

other source · Latin PREHENDERE 'to seize'

Also 'to fasten'; Portuguese arrestar is a legal term for seizing property.

Romanian

aresta

/aresˈta/

borrowed · Italian arrestare and French arrêter

Catalan

detenir

/dətəˈni/

other source · Latin DĒTINĒRE 'to hold back'

Arrestar also exists.

English

arrest

/əˈɹɛst/

from Latin/French · Old French arester

English → Italianto arrestarrestareCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*ARRESTĀRE‘to make stop (AD + RESTĀRE)’

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

The story

To arrest is first 'to make stop'. French arrêter still means both, its circumflex marking the lost s; Spanish uses detener, 'to hold back', for both.

English relatives: rest (the remainder), restive

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esLa policía detuvo a dos hombres.
  • frLa police a arrêté deux hommes.
  • itLa polizia ha arrestato due uomini.
  • ptA polícia prendeu dois homens.
  • roPoliția a arestat doi bărbați.
  • caLa policia va detenir dos homes.
  • enThe police arrested two men.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words