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"to float" in seven languages

Meaningto float

Spanish

flotar

/floˈtaɾ/

borrowed · French flotter

French

flotter

/flɔte/

inherited

From flot 'wave, flood'.

Italian

galleggiare

/ɡalledˈdʒare/

other source · galla 'oak gall', which floats

Portuguese

flutuar

/flutuˈah/

other source · Latin FLUCTUĀRE 'to toss on the waves' (learned)

Also boiar, from boia 'buoy'.

Romanian

pluti

/pluˈti/

other source · probably Slavic (cf. Old Church Slavonic pluti 'to float')

Catalan

surar

/suˈɾa/

other source · suro 'cork', from Latin SŪBER

English

float

/floʊt/

native English · Old English flotian

A Germanic relative of the word behind French flot.

English → Italianto floatgalleggiareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share

The ancestor

French flotter‘to float (flot 'wave', probably Frankish)’

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

The story

Each sister floats on something different: French and Spanish on a wave (flot), Italian on an oak gall (galla), Catalan on cork (surar, from suro), Portuguese on learned FLUCTUĀRE.

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esLa madera flota en el agua.
  • frLe bois flotte sur l'eau.
  • itIl legno galleggia sull'acqua.
  • ptA madeira flutua na água.
  • roLemnul plutește pe apă.
  • caLa fusta sura sobre l'aigua.
  • enWood floats on water.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words