"worker (manual, factory)" in seven languages
Meaningworker (manual, factory)
Spanish
/oˈbɾeɾo/
masc.inherited
fem.: obrera
French
/uvʁije/
masc.inherited
fem.: ouvrière
Italian
/opeˈrajo/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
/opeˈɾaɾju/
masc.learned
The inherited doublet obreiro survives, mostly for building workers.
Romanian
/muntʃiˈtor/
masc.other source · Romanian munci 'to toil', from muncă (Old Church Slavonic mǫka)
Catalan
/uˈbɾe/
masc.inherited
English
/ˈwɝkɚ/
native English · Old English weorc + -er
The Latin ancestor
OPERĀRIUM‘labourer (from OPUS, OPERIS 'work')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A textbook pair of laws: the p softens (b in Spanish, v in French, kept in Italian) and -ĀRIUM becomes -ero, -ier, -aio. Opera is the Latin plural of OPUS — 'works'.
English relatives: operate, operation, opera
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esLos obreros están en huelga.
- frLes ouvriers sont en grève.
- itGli operai sono in sciopero.
- ptOs operários estão em greve.
- roMuncitorii sunt în grevă.
- caEls obrers són en vaga.
- enThe workers are on strike.
The Latin family
OPUS, OPER-· work
Latin had both OPUS 'a work' and OPERA 'effort, labour'; the sisters inherited the second: obra, œuvre, opera. Spanish shows the popular P → b (obrar, obrero) against the learned operar, operación, and Italian's sung opera is simply 'the work'. Portuguese and Catalan obra are inherited as well; Romanian borrowed operă from the learned side.
OPERAMeffort, work
esobrafrœuvreitoperaptobrarooperăcaobraenopera
OPERĀRIUMworkman
esobrerofrouvrieritoperaioptoperáriocaobrer
OPERĀRĪto work
esoperarfropéreritoperareptoperarrooperacaoperarenoperate
OPERĀTIŌNEMa working
esoperaciónfropérationitoperazioneptoperaçãorooperațiecaoperacióenoperation
*MANUOPERAhandwork
esmaniobrafrmanœuvreitmanovraptmanobraromanevrăcamaniobraenmanoeuvre