"where" in seven languages
Meaningwhere
Spanish
dónde
/ˈdonde/
other source · Latin DĒ UNDE 'from where' (Old Spanish onde)
French
où
/u/
inherited
Italian
dove
/ˈdove/
inherited
From DĒ UBI.
Portuguese
onde
/ˈõdʒi/
other source · Latin UNDE 'from where'
Romanian
unde
/ˈunde/
other source · Latin UNDE 'from where'
Catalan
on
/on/
other source · Latin UNDE 'from where'
English
where
/wɛɹ/
Indo-European kin · PIE *kʷo- (question stem)
UBI lost its qu- (compare ALICUBI 'somewhere'), but shares the question stem of 'where'.
English → ItalianwheredoveDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: ubiquitous, alibi.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
UBI‘where’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French wore UBI down to a single vowel, où. Spanish and Italian both glued DĒ 'from' on front — but Spanish to UNDE 'whence', Italian to UBI.
English relatives: ubiquitous, alibi
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Dónde vives?
- frTu habites où ?
- itDove abiti?
- ptOnde você mora?
- roUnde locuiești?
- caOn vius?
- enWhere do you live?