"to operate (on a patient)" in seven languages
Meaningto operate (on a patient)
Spanish
/opeˈɾaɾ/
learned
Spanish also has the inherited doublet obrar 'to act, to work'.
French
/opeʁe/
learned
Italian
/opeˈrare/
learned
Portuguese
/opeˈɾah/
learned
Romanian
/opeˈra/
learned
Catalan
/upəˈɾa/
learned
English
/ˈɑpəɹeɪt/
from Latin/French · Latin OPERĀRĪ
The Latin ancestor
OPERĀRĪ‘to work (from OPUS 'work')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
OPERĀRĪ just meant 'to work'. In the sisters the patient is a direct object (operar a alguien, opérer quelqu'un, operare qualcuno), and 'to have an operation' is operarse, se faire opérer, farsi operare.
English relatives: operation, opera, opus, cooperate
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In a sentence
- esLo operan mañana.
- frIl se fait opérer demain.
- itLo operano domani.
- ptVão operá-lo amanhã.
- roÎl operează mâine.
- caL'operen demà.
- enThey're operating on him tomorrow.
The Latin family
OPUS, OPER-· work
Latin had both OPUS 'a work' and OPERA 'effort, labour'; the sisters inherited the second: obra, œuvre, opera. Spanish shows the popular P → b (obrar, obrero) against the learned operar, operación, and Italian's sung opera is simply 'the work'. Portuguese and Catalan obra are inherited as well; Romanian borrowed operă from the learned side.
OPERAMeffort, work
esobrafrœuvreitoperaptobrarooperăcaobraenopera
OPERĀRIUMworkman
esobrerofrouvrieritoperaioptoperáriocaobrer
OPERĀRĪto work
esoperarfropéreritoperareptoperarrooperacaoperarenoperate
OPERĀTIŌNEMa working
esoperaciónfropérationitoperazioneptoperaçãorooperațiecaoperacióenoperation
*MANUOPERAhandwork
esmaniobrafrmanœuvreitmanovraptmanobraromanevrăcamaniobraenmanoeuvre