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"to rob, steal" in seven languages

Meaningto rob, steal

Spanish

robar

/roˈbaɾ/

inherited

French

voler

/vɔle/

other source · Latin VOLĀRE 'to fly' (via falconry)

Dérober, from the same Germanic root as robar, is literary.

Italian

rubare

/ruˈbare/

inherited

Portuguese

roubar

/hoˈbah/

inherited

Romanian

fura

/fuˈra/

other source · Latin FŪRĀRĪ 'to steal'

Catalan

robar

/ruˈba/

inherited

English

rob

/ɹɑb/

from Latin/French · Old French rober, from Germanic

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

Watch out: false friends

  • voler (Catalan) means “to want” · voler (French) means “to fly; to steal”

    Coincidence. Catalan voler is spoken Latin *VOLĒRE (for VELLE 'to want'), the source of French vouloir; French voler is VOLĀRE 'to fly', and 'to steal' came from the falconer's bird flying off with its prey.

All false friends

The ancestor

Germanic *raubōn‘to plunder’

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

The story

A Germanic word for plundering that spoken Latin took in early; its noun, 'spoils, clothes taken as booty', gave robe. French voler 'to steal' is the falconer's 'to fly at' prey, so it also means 'to fly'.

English relatives: robbery, robe

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In a sentence

  • esMe robaron la bici.
  • frOn m'a volé mon vélo.
  • itMi hanno rubato la bici.
  • ptRoubaram minha bicicleta.
  • roMi-au furat bicicleta.
  • caM'han robat la bici.
  • enThey stole my bike.

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

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