"water" in seven languages
Meaningwater
Spanish
/ˈagwa/
fem.inherited
el agua (fem.): el before stressed a-, but las aguas, el agua fría
French
/o/
fem.inherited
Old French ewe, later eaue: the whole word wore down to a single vowel.
Italian
/ˈakkwa/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
/ˈagwɐ/
fem.inherited
Romanian
/ˈapə/
fem.inherited
Romanian turned QU into p: AQUAM → apă.
Catalan
/ˈajgwə/
fem.inherited
English
/ˈwɔtɚ/
native English · Old English wæter
The Latin ancestor
AQUAM‘water’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Italian doubles the k, Spanish softens it to g, and French erased everything but one vowel: AQUAM → eau [o].
English relatives: aquatic, aquarium, aqueduct
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esUn vaso de agua, por favor.
- frUn verre d'eau, s'il vous plaît.
- itUn bicchiere d'acqua, per favore.
- ptUm copo d'água, por favor.
- roUn pahar cu apă, vă rog.
- caUn got d'aigua, si us plau.
- enA glass of water, please.
The Latin family
AQU-· water
AQUAM wore down furthest in French: Old French ewe, eaue, then eau, a single vowel. Spanish agua voiced the consonant, Italian acqua doubled it. The learned words go back to the spelling — and French shows a hidden doublet, the humble évier 'kitchen sink' beside learned aquarium. Romanian apă shows the Eastern QU → p, Catalan aigua a glide of its own.
AQUAMwater
esaguafreauitacquaptáguaroapăcaaigua
AQUĀTICUMof water
esacuáticofraquatiqueitacquaticoptaquáticoroacvaticcaaquàticenaquatic
AQUAE DUCTUMconveyance of water
esacueductofraqueducitacquedottoptaquedutoroapeductcaaqüeducteenaqueduct
AQUĀRIUMwatering place, water tank
frévier
AQUĀRIUMwater tank (learned)
esacuariofraquariumitacquarioptaquárioroacvariucaaquarienaquarium