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"to hit, to strike" in seven languages

Meaningto hit, to strike

Spanish

golpear

/golpeˈaɾ/

inherited

From golpe 'blow'.

French

frapper

/fʁape/

other source · Old French fraper, origin uncertain (perhaps Frankish)

Italian

colpire

/kolˈpire/

inherited

From colpo 'blow'.

Portuguese

bater

/baˈteh/

other source · Latin BATTUERE 'to beat'

Romanian

lovi

/loˈvi/

other source · Old Church Slavonic loviti 'to hunt, catch'

Catalan

colpejar

/kulpəˈʒa/

inherited

Built on colp, now usually cop 'blow' (*COLPUM).

English

hit

/hɪt/

other source · Late Old English hittan, from Old Norse hitta

English → Italianto hit, to strikecolpireNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: coup (via French).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

COLAPHUM (spoken *COLPUM)‘a punch (from Greek kólaphos)’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian built the verb on the noun for a blow, golpe and colpo. French uses frapper, but its noun coup is the same Greek punch: un coup = un golpe = un colpo.

English relatives: coup (via French)

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In a sentence

  • esGolpeó la pelota con fuerza.
  • frIl a frappé fort dans le ballon.
  • itHa colpito la palla con forza.
  • ptEle bateu forte na bola.
  • roA lovit mingea cu putere.
  • caVa colpejar la pilota amb força.
  • enHe hit the ball hard.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words