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"wire (metal)" in seven languages

Meaningwire (metal)

Spanish

alambre

/aˈlambɾe/

masc.other source · Old Spanish arambre, from Latin AERĀMEN 'bronze, copper'

An electric wire is a cable.

French

fil

/fil/

masc.inherited

Metal wire is fil de fer; an electric wire is un fil électrique.

Italian

filo

/ˈfilo/

masc.inherited

Metal wire is filo di ferro or filo metallico.

Portuguese

arame

/aˈɾɐ̃mi/

masc.other source · Latin AERĀMEN 'bronze, copper'

An electric wire is a fio.

Romanian

sârmă

/ˈsɨrmə/

fem.other source · a Balkan word of Turkish origin (sırma 'metal thread')

Catalan

filferro

/filˈfɛro/

masc.inherited

A compound: fil 'thread' + ferro 'iron'.

English

wire

/waɪɚ/

native English · Old English wīr

English → Italianwire (metal)filoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: filament, file (a row).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

FĪLUM‘thread’

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

The story

French and Italian don't separate wire from thread: both are fil / filo, specified 'of iron' when needed. Spanish named wire after the metal it was made of.

English relatives: filament, file (a row)

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In a sentence

  • esLa valla es de alambre.
  • frLa clôture est en fil de fer.
  • itIl recinto è di filo di ferro.
  • ptA cerca é de arame.
  • roGardul e din sârmă.
  • caLa tanca és de filferro.
  • enThe fence is made of wire.

More words from the same Latin

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