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"yard (courtyard)" in seven languages

Meaningyard (courtyard)

Spanish

patio

/ˈpatjo/

masc.other source · of uncertain origin

French

cour

/kuʁ/

fem.inherited

Same word as cour 'court (of a king)'; a court of law is une cour too.

Italian

cortile

/korˈtile/

masc.inherited

Built on corte 'court', from the same Latin word.

Portuguese

quintal

/kĩˈtaw/

masc.other source · Portuguese quinta 'farm, country estate' + -al

The yard behind a house; a school or building courtyard is the pátio.

Romanian

curte

/ˈkurte/

fem.inherited

Also a royal court and a court of law: Curtea de Apel.

Catalan

pati

/ˈpati/

masc.other source · of uncertain origin

Catalan cort, from CORTEM, survives as a royal court and as a pigsty.

English

yard

/jɑɹd/

Indo-European kin · PIE *gʰer- 'to enclose'

Garden comes from the same root, by way of Frankish and Old French.

English → Italianyard (courtyard)cortileDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: court, courtyard, cohort, courteous.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

COHORTEM (spoken CORTEM)‘enclosure, farmyard’

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

The story

COHORS was first a farmyard, then the troop gathered in it, then a royal court. French cour and Italian cortile still mean the yard; Spanish took patio, a word whose origin is disputed.

English relatives: court, courtyard, cohort, courteous

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In a sentence

  • esLos niños juegan en el patio.
  • frLes enfants jouent dans la cour.
  • itI bambini giocano in cortile.
  • ptAs crianças estão brincando no quintal.
  • roCopiii se joacă în curte.
  • caEls nens juguen al pati.
  • enThe children are playing in the yard.

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