"to observe" in seven languages
Meaningto observe
Spanish
observar
/obseɾˈbaɾ/
learned
French
observer
/ɔpsɛʁve/
learned
Italian
osservare
/osserˈvare/
learned
Portuguese
observar
/obsehˈvah/
learned
Romanian
observa
/obserˈva/
learned
Catalan
observar
/upsərˈba/
learned
English
observe
/əbˈzɝv/
from Latin/French · Old French observer
English → Italianto observeosservareCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
OBSERVĀRE‘to watch over, heed’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A learned word in all four. Italian assimilated BS to ss (osservare), just as it turned PT into tt, while Spanish and French kept the Latin spelling.
English relatives: observation, observatory, observant
Learn it
In a sentence
- esObservamos los pájaros durante una hora.
- frNous avons observé les oiseaux pendant une heure.
- itAbbiamo osservato gli uccelli per un'ora.
- ptObservamos os pássaros por uma hora.
- roAm observat păsările timp de o oră.
- caVam observar els ocells durant una hora.
- enWe observed the birds for an hour.
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