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"to lower" in seven languages

Meaningto lower

Spanish

bajar

/baˈxaɾ/

inherited

Also 'to go down': bajar la escalera.

French

baisser

/bese/

inherited

Going down is descendre.

Italian

abbassare

/abbasˈsare/

inherited

Going down is scendere.

Portuguese

abaixar

/abajˈʃah/

inherited

Romanian

coborî

/koboˈrɨ/

other source · of disputed origin

Catalan

abaixar

/əbəˈʃa/

inherited

English

lower

/ˈloʊɚ/

native English · English low (Old Norse lágr) + -er

English → Italianto lowerabbassareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: base (adj.), debase, bass, bassoon.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*BASSIĀRE (from Late Latin BASSUS 'low, stocky')‘to make low’

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

The story

Late Latin BASSUS 'squat' became the everyday word for 'low' (bajo, bas, basso). Spanish turned the -SSI- into j [x]; Italian added a prefix, a-, and doubled the b.

English relatives: base (adj.), debase, bass, bassoon

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esBaja la voz, por favor.
  • frBaisse la voix, s'il te plaît.
  • itAbbassa la voce, per favore.
  • ptAbaixe a voz, por favor.
  • roCoborâți vocea, vă rog.
  • caAbaixa la veu, si us plau.
  • enLower your voice, please.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words