Skip to content

"to pay" in seven languages

Meaningto pay

Spanish

pagar

/paˈgaɾ/

inherited

French

payer

/peje/

inherited

Italian

pagare

/paˈgare/

inherited

Portuguese

pagar

/paˈɡah/

inherited

Romanian

plăti

/pləˈti/

other source · Old Church Slavonic platiti

Catalan

pagar

/pəˈɡa/

inherited

English

pay

/peɪ/

from Latin/French · Old French paier

English → Italianto paypagareCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

PĀCĀRE‘to pacify, calm’

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

The story

To pay was to pacify a creditor. The c between vowels softens to g in Spanish and Italian and fades to a glide in French.

English relatives: pay, pacify, peace

Sound laws at work

Learn it

Practice the Work & money deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?
  • frJe peux payer par carte ?
  • itPosso pagare con la carta?
  • ptPosso pagar com cartão?
  • roPot plăti cu cardul?
  • caPuc pagar amb targeta?
  • enCan I pay by card?

More words from the same Latin

More in Work & money

All Work & money words