"wolf" in seven languages
Meaningwolf
Spanish
lobo
/ˈlobo/
masc.inherited
French
loup
/lu/
masc.inherited
Italian
lupo
/ˈlupo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
lobo
/ˈlobu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
lup
/lup/
masc.inherited
plural: lupi
Catalan
llop
/ʎop/
masc.inherited
English
wolf
/wʊlf/
Indo-European kin · PIE *wĺ̥kʷos
plural: wolves
English → ItalianwolflupoDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: lupine, lupus.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
LUPUM‘wolf’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The lenition ladder in one animal: Italian keeps the p, Spanish softens it to b, French loses it in speech (the p of loup is silent).
English relatives: lupine, lupus
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esLos lobos viven en manada.
- frLes loups vivent en meute.
- itI lupi vivono in branco.
- ptOs lobos vivem em alcateias.
- roLupii trăiesc în haite.
- caEls llops viuen en manada.
- enWolves live in packs.