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"to assign" in seven languages

Meaningto assign

Spanish

asignar

/asigˈnaɾ/

learned

French

assigner

/asiɲe/

learned

Everyday French often prefers attribuer; assigner en justice is 'to summon to court'.

Italian

assegnare

/asseɲˈɲare/

learned

The i turned to e, a half-popular touch.

Portuguese

atribuir

/atɾibuˈih/

other source · Latin ATTRIBUERE 'to allot' (learned)

Assinar, the inherited shape of ASSIGNĀRE, means 'to sign'.

Romanian

atribui

/atribuˈi/

other source · French attribuer, Latin ATTRIBUERE 'to allot'

Catalan

assignar

/əsiŋˈna/

learned

English

assign

/əˈsaɪn/

from Latin/French · Old French assigner

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

The Latin ancestor

ASSIGNĀRE‘to allot, mark out (AD + SIGNUM 'mark')’

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

The story

Literally 'to put a mark on'. All four spell gn, but only French and Italian say it as one sound [ɲ]; Spanish pronounces g and n, and English says neither.

English relatives: assignment, sign, signal, designate

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esMe asignaron un despacho nuevo.
  • frOn m'a assigné un nouveau bureau.
  • itMi hanno assegnato un nuovo ufficio.
  • ptMe atribuíram uma sala nova.
  • roMi-au atribuit un birou nou.
  • caEm van assignar un despatx nou.
  • enThey assigned me a new office.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words