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"to grow (get bigger)" in seven languages

Meaningto grow (get bigger)

Spanish

crecer

/kɾeˈθeɾ/

inherited

French

grandir

/ɡʁɑ̃diʁ/

other source · grand 'big' ← Latin GRANDEM

Croître, the inherited heir of CRĒSCERE, survives in formal use (la croissance 'growth').

Italian

crescere

/ˈkreʃʃere/

inherited

Portuguese

crescer

/kɾeˈseh/

inherited

Romanian

crește

/ˈkreʃte/

inherited

Catalan

créixer

/ˈkɾeʃə/

inherited

English

grow

/ɡɹoʊ/

native English · Old English grōwan

English → Italianto grow (get bigger)crescereNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: increase, crescent, croissant, concrete, recruit.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CRĒSCERE‘to grow, increase’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian kept CRĒSCERE, its sc before e turning into θ and ʃʃ. French children 'get big' (grandir), but its old verb hides in croissant, the 'growing' crescent moon.

English relatives: increase, crescent, croissant, concrete, recruit

Sound laws at work

C before E and I

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In a sentence

  • esLos niños crecen muy deprisa.
  • frLes enfants grandissent si vite.
  • itI bambini crescono così in fretta.
  • ptAs crianças crescem tão rápido.
  • roCopiii cresc atât de repede.
  • caEls nens creixen molt de pressa.
  • enChildren grow so fast.

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words