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"view (what you see)" in seven languages

Meaningview (what you see)

Spanish

vista

/ˈbista/

fem.inherited

Often plural: vistas al mar.

French

vue

/vy/

fem.inherited

Italian

vista

/ˈvista/

fem.inherited

Portuguese

vista

/ˈvistɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

vedere

/veˈdere/

fem.inherited

The long infinitive of vedea 'to see' (VIDĒRE), used as a noun.

Catalan

vista

/ˈbistə/

fem.inherited

English

view

/vju/

from Latin/French · Anglo-Norman veue, from Old French veoir 'to see'

English → Italianview (what you see)vistaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

VIDĒRE‘to see’

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

The story

Both are feminine participles of VIDĒRE made in spoken Latin: *VĪSTA gave Spanish and Italian vista, *VĪDŪTA gave French vue, and English view through Anglo-Norman.

English relatives: vision, visit, visible, vista, review

Sound laws at work

B and V merge in Spanish

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In a sentence

  • esLa habitación tiene vistas al mar.
  • frLa chambre a vue sur la mer.
  • itLa camera ha vista sul mare.
  • ptO quarto tem vista para o mar.
  • roCamera are vedere la mare.
  • caL'habitació té vistes al mar.
  • enThe room has a sea view.

The Latin family

VID-, VĪS-· see

VIDĒRE lost its middle in Spanish (Old Spanish veer → ver) and French (voir) but kept it in Italian vedere. The sisters built new spoken participles — *VĪSTA behind vista, *VIDŪTA behind French vue — while classical VĪSUM fed the learned words. Catalan veure turned the d into u; Romanian vedea kept it, like Italian.

  • VIDĒREto see

    esverfrvoiritvedereptverrovedeacaveure

  • *VĪSTAMsight (spoken-Latin participle)

    esvistafrvueitvistaptvistacavistaenvista

  • VĪSIŌNEMsight, vision

    esvisiónfrvisionitvisioneptvisãoroviziunecavisióenvision

  • VĪSITĀREto go to see

    esvisitarfrvisiteritvisitareptvisitarrovizitacavisitarenvisit

  • PROVIDĒREto foresee, provide for

    esproveerfrpourvoiritprovvedereptprovercaproveirenprovide

  • ĒVIDENTEMplain to see

    esevidentefrévidentitevidenteptevidenteroevidentcaevidentenevident

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