"winter" in seven languages
Meaningwinter
Spanish
invierno
/inˈbjeɾno/
masc.inherited
French
hiver
/ivɛʁ/
masc.inherited
Italian
inverno
/inˈvɛrno/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
inverno
/ĩˈvɛhnu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
iarnă
/ˈjarnə/
fem.inherited
Catalan
hivern
/iˈbɛrn/
masc.inherited
English
winter
/ˈwɪntɚ/
native English · Old English winter
English → ItalianwinterinvernoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: hibernate, hibernation.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
HĪBERNUM (tempus)‘wintry (time)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
An adjective 'wintry' replaced classical HIEMS. Spanish and Italian grew an n at the start (in-), probably by confusion with the prefix in-.
English relatives: hibernate, hibernation
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEn invierno anochece pronto.
- frEn hiver, il fait nuit tôt.
- itD'inverno fa buio presto.
- ptNo inverno escurece cedo.
- roIarna se întunecă devreme.
- caA l'hivern es fa fosc d'hora.
- enIn winter it gets dark early.