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"to swell (up)" in seven languages

Meaningto swell (up)

Spanish

hinchar

/inˈtʃaɾ/

inherited

The h is silent and not from F. Mostly hincharse; an ankle se hincha.

French

enfler

/ɑ̃fle/

inherited

Gonfler, from Italian or Occitan, is the everyday word for inflating.

Italian

gonfiare

/ɡonˈfjare/

other source · Latin CONFLĀRE 'to blow together, kindle'

Gonfiarsi for a swelling.

Portuguese

inchar

/ĩˈʃah/

inherited

Romanian

umfla

/umˈfla/

inherited

Mostly reflexive: a se umfla.

Catalan

inflar

/inˈfla/

inherited

Mostly inflar-se for a swelling.

English

swell

/swɛl/

native English · Old English swellan

English → Italianto swell (up)gonfiareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: inflate, inflation.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

INFLĀRE‘to blow into’

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

The story

Swelling is 'blowing into' (INFLĀRE): Spanish hinchar and Portuguese inchar turned NFL into ch, as in AMPLUM → ancho. Italian chose CONFLĀRE 'to blow together' instead.

English relatives: inflate, inflation

Sound laws at work

French vowel + nasal becomes a nasal vowel

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In a sentence

  • esSe me hinchó el tobillo después de la caída.
  • frMa cheville a enflé après la chute.
  • itMi si è gonfiata la caviglia dopo la caduta.
  • ptMeu tornozelo inchou depois da queda.
  • roMi s-a umflat glezna după cădere.
  • caSe'm va inflar el turmell després de la caiguda.
  • enMy ankle swelled up after the fall.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words