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"to serve" in seven languages

Meaningto serve

Spanish

servir

/seɾˈbiɾ/

inherited

¿Para qué sirve? 'What is it for?'

French

servir

/sɛʁviʁ/

inherited

À quoi ça sert ? 'What is it for?'

Italian

servire

/serˈvire/

inherited

A cosa serve? 'What is it for?'

Portuguese

servir

/sehˈvih/

inherited

Romanian

servi

/serˈvi/

learned

Catalan

servir

/səɾˈbi/

inherited

English

serve

/sɝv/

from Latin/French · Old French servir

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

The Latin ancestor

SERVĪRE‘to be a slave, to serve (SERVUS 'slave')’

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

The story

One of the easy ones: the same verb in all four. In all three sisters it also means 'to be useful for', a sense English only keeps in 'it serves no purpose'.

English relatives: service, servant, serf, servile

Sound laws at work

B and V merge in Spanish

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esLa cena se sirve a las ocho.
  • frLe dîner est servi à huit heures.
  • itLa cena è servita alle otto.
  • ptO jantar é servido às oito.
  • roCina se servește la ora opt.
  • caEl sopar se serveix a les vuit.
  • enDinner is served at eight.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words