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"to steal" in seven languages

Meaningto steal

Spanish

robar

/roˈbaɾ/

inherited

French

voler

/vɔle/

other source · Latin VOLĀRE 'to fly' (a falconry sense: the hawk flies at its prey)

Same verb as 'to fly'; dérober (formal) keeps the Germanic root.

Italian

rubare

/ruˈbare/

inherited

Portuguese

roubar

/howˈbah/

inherited

Romanian

fura

/fuˈra/

other source · Latin FŪRĀRĪ 'to steal'

Catalan

robar

/ruˈba/

inherited

English

steal

/stil/

native English · Old English stelan

English → Italianto stealrubareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: rob, robbery, robe (via French).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

Germanic *raubōn 'to plunder' entered spoken Latin and gave robar and rubare; the loot was often clothing, hence robe. French uses voler, the verb 'to fly', from falconry.

English relatives: rob, robbery, robe (via French)

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In a sentence

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

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

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