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"to describe" in seven languages

Meaningto describe

Spanish

describir

/deskɾiˈbiɾ/

inherited

French

décrire

/dekʁiʁ/

inherited

Italian

descrivere

/desˈkrivere/

inherited

Portuguese

descrever

/deskɾeˈveh/

inherited

Romanian

descrie

/desˈkrie/

borrowed · French décrire, refashioned on scrie 'to write'

Catalan

descriure

/dəsˈkɾiwɾə/

inherited

English

describe

/dɪˈskɹaɪb/

from Latin/French · Old French descrire, reshaped after Latin DĒSCRĪBERE

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

The Latin ancestor

DĒSCRĪBERE‘to write down, to copy out (SCRĪBERE 'to write')’

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

The story

It is just 'to write' with de-: escribir, écrire, scrivere. French lost the s before the consonant, leaving dé-.

English relatives: description, scribe, script, scribble

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

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In a sentence

  • es¿Puede describir al hombre?
  • frPouvez-vous décrire l'homme ?
  • itPuò descrivere l'uomo?
  • ptVocê pode descrever o homem?
  • roPuteți descrie bărbatul?
  • caPots descriure l'home?
  • enCan you describe the man?

The Latin family

SCRĪB-, SCRĪPT-· write

Initial SC- grew a prop vowel in Spanish (escribir) and French (Old French escrire → écrire), which later dropped the s and left an accent behind. Italian kept the cluster: scrivere, scritto. In this family even the inherited forms look close to Latin, because -PT- simply became -t- or -tt-. Portuguese escrever and Catalan escriure took the prop vowel too; Romanian scrie, like Italian, kept the bare cluster.

  • SCRĪBEREto write

    esescribirfrécrireitscrivereptescreverroscriecaescriure

  • SCRĪPTUMwritten; a writing

    esescritofrécrititscrittoptescritocaescritenscript

  • SCRĪPTŪRAMwriting

    esescriturafrécritureitscritturaptescrituraroscripturăcaescripturaenscripture

  • DĒSCRĪBEREto write down, describe

    esdescribirfrdécrireitdescrivereptdescreverrodescriecadescriureendescribe

  • SCRĪBAMclerk, scribe

    esescribafrscribeitscribaptescribaroscribcaescribaenscribe

  • MANŪSCRĪPTUM (Medieval Latin)written by hand

    esmanuscritofrmanuscrititmanoscrittoptmanuscritoromanuscriscamanuscritenmanuscript

Explore all Latin families

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