"to close" in seven languages
Meaningto close
Spanish
/θeˈraɾ/
other source · Late Latin SERĀRE 'to bolt' (from SERA 'bar'), its c- probably from cercar 'to fence in'
French
/fɛʁme/
other source · Latin FIRMĀRE 'to make firm, secure'
Italian
/ˈkjudere/
inherited
Portuguese
/feˈʃah/
other source · from fecho 'bolt, latch', of debated Latin origin
Romanian
/ɨnˈkide/
other source · Latin INCLŪDERE 'to shut in' (a compound of CLAUDERE)
Catalan
/təŋˈka/
other source · of uncertain origin
English
/kloʊz/
from Latin/French · Old French clore (clos)
Watch out: false friends
fermare (Italian) means “to stop” · fermer (French) means “to close, shut”
Both from Latin FIRMĀRE 'to make firm, fix'. Italian holds something still; French makes it fast. Spanish firmar went a third way: 'to sign'.
The Latin ancestor
CLAUDERE‘to shut’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Three unrelated words: Italian kept Latin's 'shut', Spanish 'bolted' the door, and French 'made it firm'. CLAUDERE survives in French clore and Spanish clausura — and in English close.
English relatives: close, closet, clause, conclude, include (CLAUDERE); firm, affirm (FIRMĀRE)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esCierra la puerta.
- frFerme la porte.
- itChiudi la porta.
- ptFecha a porta.
- roÎnchide ușa.
- caTanca la porta.
- enClose the door.