"with" in seven languages
Meaningwith
Spanish
con
/kon/
inherited
French
avec
/avɛk/
other source · Vulgar Latin *APUD HOC 'next to this' (Old French avuec)
Italian
con
/kon/
inherited
Portuguese
com
/kõ/
inherited
Like Spanish conmigo, Portuguese fuses it with the pronoun: comigo 'with me'.
Romanian
cu
/ku/
inherited
Catalan
amb
/am/
other source · Latin APUD 'next to' (Old Catalan ab)
English
with
/wɪθ/
native English · Old English wiþ
English → ItalianwithconNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: com-/con- (combine, connect, compassion).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CUM‘with’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and Italian kept Latin CUM; French built 'with' from 'next to this'. Spanish conmigo / contigo pile up CUM twice: MĒCUM already meant 'with me'.
English relatives: com-/con- (combine, connect, compassion)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esVen conmigo.
- frViens avec moi.
- itVieni con me.
- ptVem comigo.
- roVino cu mine.
- caVine amb mi.
- enCome with me.