"to look for, to search" in seven languages
Meaningto look for, to search
Spanish
/busˈkaɾ/
other source · of uncertain origin, possibly pre-Roman (Corominas)
French
/ʃɛʁʃe/
inherited
Old French cerchier; the first ch- copied the second.
Italian
/tʃerˈkare/
inherited
Portuguese
/pɾokuˈɾah/
other source · Latin PRŌCŪRĀRE 'to take care of'
False friend: Spanish procurar means 'to try'. Buscar is also common in Brazil.
Romanian
/kəuˈta/
other source · probably Latin *CAUTĀRE, from CAVĒRE 'to watch out' (debated)
Catalan
/busˈka/
other source · of uncertain origin, possibly pre-Roman
Cercar, CIRCĀRE's heir, is the more formal word.
English
/sɝtʃ/
from Latin/French · Old French cerchier
The Latin ancestor
CIRCĀRE‘to go around’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Searching was walking in circles: CIRCĀRE 'to go around' gave chercher and cercare, and English search. Spanish buscar is unrelated, of unknown parentage.
English relatives: search (via Old French cerchier), circle, circuit
Learn it
In a sentence
- esBusco una farmacia.
- frJe cherche une pharmacie.
- itCerco una farmacia.
- ptEstou procurando uma farmácia.
- roCaut o farmacie.
- caBusco una farmàcia.
- enI'm looking for a pharmacy.