"vision" in seven languages
Meaningvision
Spanish
/biˈsjon/
fem.learned
French
/vizjɔ̃/
fem.learned
Italian
/viˈzjone/
fem.learned
Portuguese
/viˈzɐ̃w/
fem.learned
Romanian
/viziˈune/
fem.learned
Viziune is a view or outlook; the faculty of sight is vedere.
Catalan
/biziˈo/
fem.learned
English
/ˈvɪʒən/
from Latin/French · Old French vision
The Latin ancestor
VĪSIŌNEM‘a seeing, sight’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
From VIDĒRE 'to see', like video and visit. All four use it both for eyesight and for a leader's plan for the future.
English relatives: video, visit, visible, evidence
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLa empresa necesita una visión clara.
- frL'entreprise a besoin d'une vision claire.
- itL'azienda ha bisogno di una visione chiara.
- ptA empresa precisa de uma visão clara.
- roCompania are nevoie de o viziune clară.
- caL'empresa necessita una visió clara.
- enThe company needs a clear vision.
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