"very" in seven languages
Meaningvery
Spanish
muy
/mwi/
inherited
A worn-down form of mucho (Old Spanish muito).
French
très
/tʁɛ/
other source · Latin TRĀNS 'across, beyond'
Italian
molto
/ˈmolto/
inherited
The same word as 'a lot': molto bello, molto lavoro.
Portuguese
muito
/ˈmũjtu/
inherited
Romanian
foarte
/ˈfo̯arte/
other source · Latin FORTE 'strongly' (FORTIS 'strong')
Catalan
molt
/mol/
inherited
English
very
/ˈvɛɹi/
other source · Old French verai (Latin VĒRUS 'true')
English → ItalianverymoltoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: multiple, multitude, multi-.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MULTUM‘much’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and Italian intensify with 'much'; French with 'beyond' (TRĀNS, as in transatlantic).
English relatives: multiple, multitude, multi-
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEstá muy bueno.
- frC'est très bon.
- itÈ molto buono.
- ptEstá muito bom.
- roE foarte bun.
- caÉs molt bo.
- enIt's very good.