"yellow" in seven languages
Meaningyellow
Spanish
/amaˈɾiʝo/
other source · Late Latin AMĀRELLUM 'slightly bitter' (diminutive of AMĀRUS); the link to the colour is probably bile
French
/ʒon/
inherited
Old French jalne: the l vocalized to u.
Italian
/ˈdʒallo/
borrowed · Old French jalne
Also a crime novel, after the yellow covers of a famous series.
Portuguese
/amaˈɾɛlu/
other source · Late Latin AMĀRELLUM 'slightly bitter' (diminutive of AMĀRUS)
Romanian
/ˈɡalben/
inherited
Romanian kept GALBINUM directly, without passing through French.
Catalan
/ɡɾɔk/
other source · Latin CROCUM 'saffron' (from Greek krókos)
English
/ˈjɛloʊ/
native English · Old English geolu
The Latin ancestor
GALBINUM‘yellowish green’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French and Italian share one word (Italian borrowed it from Old French); Spanish amarillo is unrelated, from 'a bit bitter'.
Sound laws at work
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In a sentence
- esLos limones son amarillos.
- frLes citrons sont jaunes.
- itI limoni sono gialli.
- ptOs limões-sicilianos são amarelos.
- roLămâile sunt galbene.
- caLes llimones són grogues.
- enLemons are yellow.