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"to wipe (dry)" in seven languages

Meaningto wipe (dry)

Spanish

secar

/seˈkaɾ/

other source · Latin SICCĀRE 'to dry'

Enjugar, from EXSŪCĀRE, survives in enjugarse las lágrimas.

French

essuyer

/esɥije/

inherited

Italian

asciugare

/aʃʃuˈɡare/

inherited

Also simply 'to dry' (the hair, the dishes).

Portuguese

enxugar

/ẽʃuˈɡah/

inherited

Romanian

șterge

/ˈʃterdʒe/

other source · Latin EXTERGĒRE 'to wipe off'

Also to erase.

Catalan

eixugar

/əʃuˈɡa/

inherited

English

wipe

/waɪp/

native English · Old English wīpian

English → Italianto wipe (dry)asciugareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: succulent (from SŪCUS 'juice').What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

EXSŪCĀRE‘to squeeze the juice out (SŪCUS 'juice')’

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

The story

To dry something, spoken Latin 'squeezed the juice out of it': essuyer, asciugare, enxugar, eixugar. Romanian șterge wipes with a different verb, EXTERGĒRE.

English relatives: succulent (from SŪCUS 'juice')

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esSe secó las lágrimas.
  • frElle a essuyé ses larmes.
  • itSi è asciugata le lacrime.
  • ptEla enxugou as lágrimas.
  • roȘi-a șters lacrimile.
  • caEs va eixugar les llàgrimes.
  • enShe wiped away her tears.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words