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"to establish" in seven languages

Meaningto establish

Spanish

establecer

/estableˈθeɾ/

inherited

French

établir

/etabliʁ/

inherited

Italian

stabilire

/stabiˈlire/

learned

Portuguese

estabelecer

/istabeleˈseh/

inherited

Romanian

stabili

/stabiˈli/

learned

Catalan

establir

/əstəˈbli/

inherited

English

establish

/ɪˈstæblɪʃ/

from Latin/French · Old French establir

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

The Latin ancestor

STABILĪRE‘to make firm (STABILIS 'steady')’

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

The story

Initial st- grew a vowel: Spanish es-, French é- (Old French establir, where English got establish). Spanish lengthened the verb with -ecer, as in parecer.

English relatives: stable, stability, establishment

Sound laws at work

S + consonant at the start of a word

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esEstablecimos contacto con ellos.
  • frNous avons établi le contact avec eux.
  • itAbbiamo stabilito un contatto con loro.
  • ptEstabelecemos contato com eles.
  • roAm stabilit contactul cu ei.
  • caVam establir contacte amb ells.
  • enWe established contact with them.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words