# Automobile



## Włoskipolak 72

Do you like cars ? What do you see in cars that makes you like them? 
But first of all how do you say  automobile in your language ? 

From French *automobile*, from Ancient Greek *αὐτός* (autós, “self”) + French *mobile* (“moving”), from Latin *mōbilis *(“movable”).
Automobile = "self-moving, self-movable,"


Polish 

samochód = automobile 
samochody (plural)

sam (alone)+ -o- + chód (gait)

pojazd = vehicle 
wehikuł czasu = time machine

auto = automobile 
wóz = wagon , cart
fura = cart


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## Linnets

Italian

Formal: _automobile_, _autovettura_,_ autoveicolo_.
Informal: _auto_, _macchina._


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## apmoy70

In Greek it's *«αυτοκίνητο»* [a.fto̞ˈci.ni.to̞] (neut.), a word calqued for the French _automobile_; a compound: Classical reflexive pronoun *«αὐτός» autós* + Classical deverbative adj. *«κινητός» kĭnētós* --> _moving, movable_ < Classical v. *«κῑνέω/κῑνῶ»** kīnéō* (uncontracted)/*kīnô* (contracted).
Plural: *«Αυτοκίνητα»* [a.fto̞ˈci.ni.ta] (neut. nom.).

In the vernacular it's *«αμάξι»* [aˈma.k͡si] (neut. nom. sing.), *«αμάξια»* [aˈma.k͡sça] (neut. nom. pl.) < Byz.Gr. neuter diminutive *«ἁμάξι(ο)ν» amáksi(o)n* --> _little wagon_ < Classical feminine noun *«ἅμαξᾱ» hắmaksā* --> _wagon, coach_, a compound: Classical adverb *«ἅμα» hắmă* + Classical 3rd declension masc. noun *«ἄξων» ắksōn* (nom. sing.), *«ἄξονος» ắksŏnŏs* (gen. sing.) --> _axle_ (PIE *h₂eḱs- _axle, axis_ old inherited IE noun present in many languages e.g. Skt. अक्ष (akṣa), _axle, axis, balance beam_, Lat. axis, Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśís, Proto-Germanic *ahsō, Proto-Slavic *osь etc.).

Vehicle: *«Όχημα»* [ˈo̞.çi.ma] (neut. nom.sing.), *«οχήματα»* [o̞ˈçi.ma.ta] (neut. nom. pl.) < Classical deverbative neut. noun *«ὄχημα» ókʰēmă* --> _wagon, vehicle, cart, carriage_ < Classical mediopassive v. *«ὀχέομαι/ὀχοῦμαι» ŏkʰéŏmai* (uncontracted)/*ŏkʰoûmai* (contracted) --> _to drive_ < Classical v. *«ἔχω» ékʰō* --> _to transport_ (not to be confused with «ἔχω» ékʰō --> _to have_, the two are unrelated), from an earlier form *«*ϝέχω» *wékʰō*, cognate with Latin vehere, _to carry, bear_, Skt. वहति (vahati), _to drive, transport_, Proto-Germanic *weganą, _to move, carry_ (PIE *ue̯ǵʰ- _to transport, carry_).

Edit: Added όχημα


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## Cork Irish

In Irish:
1. *carr* (this word is of Celtic origin, by the way, but I don't know if Irish borrowed this from English, which got it from Gaulish/Celtic?)
2. *mótar* (motor car)
3. *gluaisteán* (automobile). *Gluais* is a verb meaning "move, proceed". *Gluaiste* is the verbal adjective. And then a generic ending *-án *is added to turn it into the noun automobile.


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## DearPrudence

Let's note that in French, the most common word is actually "*voiture*":


> Du latin _vectura_ (« action de transporter »), dérivé de _vectus_ (« participe passé du verbe _vehere_ »)[1]. _(Vers 1200)_ _veiture_, dans le sens de « moyen de transport ». Le sens de dispositif servant au transport remonte au XIIIe siècle, celui d’automobile à la fin du XIXe.


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## Penyafort

Catalan:

*automòbil *(general technical word)
*cotxe *['koʧə] (general common word) < either from Spanish or French _coche_, from German _Kotsche_, from Hungarian _kosci_ (_szekér_) "carriage of Kocs", where it was first made.

Informal or local variants:
_auto
cotxo 
votura _(North Catalonia)


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## raamez

Arabic:
*sayyarah سيّارة* (automobile/car) used to be the word for caravan in ancient times and was revived after the invention of automobiles. It derives from s-y-r to move

*markabah مركبة* (Vehicle) from r-k-b to ride/to get on, a cognate with the famous Israeli tank merkava. The word itself is at least five thousand years old

*maqTurah مقطورة (*wagon*)  *to be part of a qiTaar قطار. QiTaar in modern Arabic means train but in ancient times used to mean a convoy of camels. Another derivation of q-T-r is qaTreeb قطريب (one of the attaching parts inside a yoke)

*araba عربة (*cart*) *has no good explanation in Arabic and is thought to be of Persian origin or of some other Iranian languages.


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## apmoy70

raamez said:


> ...
> *araba عربة (*cart*) *has no good explanation in Arabic and is thought to be of Persian origin or of some other Iranian languages.


This word exists (or rather it existed, it's considered obsolete nowadays) in Greek as *«αραμπάς»* [a.ɾaˈbas] (masc.) and described the four-wheeled horse drawn carriage, it comes from Ottoman Turkish and it's present in many traditional folk songs, especially those folk songs the Greeks of Anatolia and Constantinople (Istanbul) brought with them, after the Greco-Turkish population exchange of 1923-24:
click me for a traditional folk song
An arabas's passing by, raising clouds of dust,
pull up your little dress 'cause it will gather dust.

An arabas's passing by, the driver has a limp, so, 
step aside little girls 'cause he will run you over.

An arabas's passing by, an arabas full of sweepings,
so come out girls from Fassoulas (a neighbourhood in Smyrna/Izmir) even if clogs you're wearing.

I've told you once in Kassabas (present-day Basmahane, Izmir), I've told you twice in Kordelio (present-day Karşıyaka, Izmir)
I've told you three times not to marry.


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## Circunflejo

Spanish from Spain: automóvil (formal), coche (what most people says in daily life).


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## Yendred

Linnets said:


> Informal: _auto_, _macchina._


Note that in Russian, the informal word is also маши́на (mashina), I guess both come from Latin _machina _(machine/engine).


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## raamez

apmoy70 said:


> This word exists (or rather it existed, it's considered obsolete nowadays) in Greek as *«αραμπάς»* [a.ɾaˈbas] (masc.) and described the four-wheeled horse drawn carriage, it comes from Ottoman Turkish and it's present in many traditional folk songs, especially those folk songs the Greeks of Anatolia and Constantinople (Istanbul) brought with them, after the Greco-Turkish population exchange of 1923-24:
> click me for a traditional folk song
> An arabas's passing by, raising clouds of dust,
> pull up your little dress 'cause it will gather dust.
> 
> An arabas's passing by, the driver has a limp, so,
> step aside little girls 'cause he will run you over.
> 
> An arabas's passing by, an arabas full of sweepings,
> so come out girls from Fassoulas (a neighbourhood in Smyrna/Izmir) even if clogs you're wearing.
> 
> I've told you once in Kassabas (present-day Basmahane, Izmir), I've told you twice in Kordelio (present-day Karşıyaka, Izmir)
> I've told you three times not to marry.


Maybe it is only me but the beginning reminds me of baali ma3ak by the Syrian Armenian singer lena shamamian


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## Penyafort

Circunflejo said:


> Spanish: automóvil (formal), coche (what most people says in daily life).



Technically, if counting Hispanic America, what most people say is _carro_. 

And in the Southern Cone people say _auto_.


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## Linnets

Yendred said:


> Note that in Russian, the informal word is also маши́на (mashina), I guess both come from Latin _machina _(machine/engine).


Yes but Latin word _māchina_ actually comes from Doric Greek μαχανά (Ionic/Attic μηχανή) 'mechanical device'. The Russian word probably took two intermediate steps: машина < (German) _Maschine_ < (French) _machine_ < _māchina_ < μαχανά_._


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## Circunflejo

Penyafort said:


> Technically, if counting Hispanic America, what most people say is _carro_.
> 
> And in the Southern Cone people say _auto_.


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## AndrasBP

Penyafort said:


> *cotxe *['koʧə] (general common word) < either from Spanish or French _coche_, from German _Kotsche_, from Hungarian *kocsi *(_szekér_) "carriage of Kocs", where it was first made.


In Hungarian we usually say "*kocsi*" /'koʧi/ or "*autó*".

I find it amazing that such a common word which spread all over Europe (+English "coach") comes from the name of a Hungarian village. (It's near the city of Győr.)


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## Cork Irish

AndrasBP said:


> In Hungarian we usually say "*kocsi*" /'koʧi/ or "*autó*".
> 
> I find it amazing that such a common word which spread all over Europe (+English "coach") comes from the name of a Hungarian village. (It's near the city of Győr.)


The Irish version is *cóiste*. /ko:ʃtʹi/. It means "coach" (not "car"). There are a number of words in Irish where ʧ is transposed into ʃtʹ (the t is palatalised).


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## Linnets

AndrasBP said:


> I find it amazing that such a common word which spread all over Europe (+English "coach") comes from the name of a Hungarian village. (It's near the city of Győr.)


It is also the source of Italian _cocchio_ [ˈkɔkkjo], but it is used only for the carriage, not for the automobile.


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## Olaszinhok

In Spanish _automóvil_ and _auto_ are masculine _el automóvil rojo_, while in Italian it is feminine _l'automobile or l'auto rossa_.


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## merquiades

Penyafort said:


> Technically, if counting Hispanic America, what most people say is _carro_.
> 
> And in the Southern Cone people say _auto_.





Circunflejo said:


>


I guess if we have to include it all we should add _máquina_ for Cuba,  _coche_ in Mexico City and Buenos Aires, I believe.



Yendred said:


> Note that in Russian, the informal word is also маши́на (mashina), I guess both come from Latin _machina _(machine/engine).


I think it must come directly from the French _machine_, otherwise it would probably have a k sound like _máquina_ or _machina_.


For the original question, I think cognates of the word "automobile" exist in every language.   _L'automobile_ is feminine in French and Italian, but masculine in Spanish _el automóvil _and Portuguese _o automóvel_ and neuter in German _das Automobil_ and Dutch _het automobiel_.  The variation in gender is interesting.

Edit:  crossposted with Olaszinhok.  I was writing the same idea when he answered!


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## Linnets

At the beginning of the automobile era, in Italian the gender was masculine: _gli automobili_. But D'Annunzio and common people (association with _macchina_?) started considering it a feminine noun.


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## alfaalfa

Ciao,


Linnets said:


> Italian
> 
> Formal: _automobile_,  _autovettura_,_autoveicolo_.
> Informal: _auto_, _macchina._


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## Linnets

_Autoveicolo_ is the official definition in the Traffic code (_Codice della strada_) for every motor vehicle (except motorbikes). So it is a hyperonym of _automobile_.


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## Yendred

merquiades said:


> I think it must come directly from the French _machine_


I don't think they went through French because in French, _machine_(*) never meant _car/automobile, _but always _engine/mechanical device._

(*) Although Serge Gainsbourg used the word to speak of a motorcycle:
_Je ne reconnais plus personne
En Harley Davidson
Quand je sens en chemin
Les trépidations de ma machine
Il me monte des désirs
Dans le creux de mes reins_


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## merquiades

@Yendred  Maybe it could have meant automobile when they were first invented in the 19th century and then it lost that meaning?  The thing is the k > sh is a typical French change.  There are hundreds of words with ch in modern French that correspond to c/k in all other languages.  There is also definitely the "sh" sound there in the "mashina" of Russian, Armenian, Romanian, Hebrew....  We have to explain where that came from.
Edit:  I found one historical example of machine as car: 


> _Je connais assez mal les choses de l'automobile et, pourtant, chaque fois que je vois un homme installé au volant de sa machine, il me semble que je découvre tout ce qu'il y a de plus secret dans les profondeurs de sa nature_ (Duhamel, _Passion J. Pasquier_, 1945, p.117).


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## Penyafort

merquiades said:


> I guess if we have to include it all we should add _máquina_ for Cuba,  _coche_ in Mexico City and Buenos Aires, I believe.



I've heard some Mexicans say _coche_, but I've never heard any Porteños say anything but _auto_. Any Argentinians around to confirm it?


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## merquiades

@Penyafort  A random Buenos Aires article uses 4 autos, 1 coche, and 1 vehículo.  Another article 1 coche, 1 camioneta. One from Uruguay with only coche.
Seems like auto is more frequent but coche is more elegant.

This Mexican article tries to teach readers how to distinguish coche, carro and auto for specific uses.  Basically for the writer _coche _is a vehicle that transports people, _carro_ is a vehicle that transports things and _auto_ is a vehicle that is automatic.


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## Penyafort

@merquiades I wonder if, whether in Mexico it's a regional variation, maybe in Argentina it's a generational one. I don't recall Argentinians saying _coche_, but it's also true that it's not a word that surprises them, so there must be indeed people who use it. I've also heard people use _auto _in Spain, but very few and usually old people from villages.


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## Circunflejo

Penyafort said:


> I've also heard people use _auto _in Spain, but very few and usually old people from villages.


Los payasos de la tele sang en el auto de papá... back in the 70's, if I'm not wrong.


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## Włoskipolak 72

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek it's *«αυτοκίνητο»* [a.fto̞ˈci.ni.to̞] (neut.), a word calqued for the French _automobile_; a compound: Classical reflexive pronoun *«αὐτός» autós* + Classical deverbative adj. *«κινητός» kĭnētós* --> _moving, movable_ < Classical v. *«κῑνέω/κῑνῶ»** kīnéō* (uncontracted)/*kīnô* (contracted).
> Plural: *«Αυτοκίνητα»* [a.fto̞ˈci.ni.ta] (neut. nom.).
> 
> In the vernacular it's *«αμάξι»* [aˈma.k͡si] (neut. nom. sing.), *«αμάξια»* [aˈma.k͡sça] (neut. nom. pl.) < Byz.Gr. neuter diminutive *«ἁμάξι(ο)ν» amáksi(o)n* --> _little wagon_ < Classical feminine noun *«ἅμαξᾱ» hắmaksā* --> _wagon, coach_, a compound: Classical adverb *«ἅμα» hắmă* + Classical 3rd declension masc. noun *«ἄξων» ắksōn* (nom. sing.), *«ἄξονος» ắksŏnŏs* (gen. sing.) --> _axle_ (PIE *h₂eḱs- _axle, axis_ old inherited IE noun present in many languages e.g. Skt. अक्ष (akṣa), _axle, axis, balance beam_, Lat. axis, Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśís, Proto-Germanic *ahsō, Proto-Slavic *osь etc.).
> 
> Vehicle: *«Όχημα»* [ˈo̞.çi.ma] (neut. nom.sing.), *«οχήματα»* [o̞ˈçi.ma.ta] (neut. nom. pl.) < Classical deverbative neut. noun *«ὄχημα» ókʰēmă* --> _wagon, vehicle, cart, carriage_ < Classical mediopassive v. *«ὀχέομαι/ὀχοῦμαι» ŏkʰéŏmai* (uncontracted)/*ŏkʰoûmai* (contracted) --> _to drive_ < Classical v. *«ἔχω» ékʰō* --> _to transport_ (not to be confused with «ἔχω» ékʰō --> _to have_, the two are unrelated), from an earlier form *«*ϝέχω» *wékʰō*, cognate with Latin vehere, _to carry, bear_, Skt. वहति (vahati), _to drive, transport_, Proto-Germanic *weganą, _to move, carry_ (PIE *ue̯ǵʰ- _to transport, carry_).
> 
> Edit: Added όχημα



In Polish wehikuł (vehicle) «*pojazd*, zwłaszcza dziwaczny lub staromodny» (vehicle, especially bizarre or old-fashioned).
But curiously we can't say ''pojazd czasu'' , only in this case we say: wehikuł czasu = time machine 

*wehikuł =* w powieściach lub filmach fantastycznonaukowych: urządzenie przenoszące ludzi w przeszłość lub przyszłość (in the novels or fantastic films: a device transferring people into a past or future)

Wagon = *pojazd *służący do przewozu osób, ładunków lub urządzeń w kolejowym transporcie lądowym (a vehicle for transporting persons, cargo or devices in railing terrestrial transport)

English

Wagon 
"four-wheeled vehicle to carry heavy loads," late 15c., from Middle Dutch wagen, waghen, from Proto-Germanic **wagna*- (source also of Old English *wægn*, Modern English *wain*, Old Saxon and Old High German *wagan*, Old Norse *vagn*, Old Frisian *wein*, German *Wagen*), from Proto-Indo-European **wogh-no-*, suffixed form of root **wegh*- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle" (source also of Latin vehiculum). It is thus related to way.

In Dutch and German, it is the general word for "a wheel vehicle;" its use in English is a result of contact through Flemish immigration, Dutch trade, or the Continental wars. It has largely displaced the native cognate, wain. Spelling preference varied randomly between -g- and -gg- from mid-18c., until American English settled on the etymological wagon, while waggon remained common in Great Britain. Wagon-train is attested from 1810. Phrase on the wagon "abstaining from alcohol" is attested by 1904, originally on the water cart.



Cork Irish said:


> In Irish:
> 1. *carr* (this word is of Celtic origin, by the way, but I don't know if Irish borrowed this from English, which got it from Gaulish/Celtic?)
> 2. *mótar* (motor car)
> 3. *gluaisteán* (automobile). *Gluais* is a verb meaning "move, proceed". *Gluaiste* is the verbal adjective. And then a generic ending *-án *is added to turn it into the noun automobile.


car
c. 1300, "wheeled vehicle," from Anglo-French carre, Old North French carre, from Vulgar Latin *carra, related to Latin carrum, carrus (plural carra), originally "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot," from Gaulish karros, a Celtic word (compare Old Irish and Welsh carr "cart, wagon," Breton karr "chariot"), from PIE *krsos, from root *kers- "to run."

"From 16th to 19th c. chiefly poetic, with associations of dignity, solemnity, or splendour ..." [OED]. Used in U.S. by 1826 of railway freight carriages and of passenger coaches on a railway by 1830; by 1862 of streetcars or tramway cars. Extension to "automobile" is by 1896, but from 1831 to the first decade of 20c. the cars meant "railroad train." Car bomb first attested 1972, in reference to Northern Ireland. The Latin word also is the source of Italian and Spanish carro, French char.


DearPrudence said:


> Let's note that in French, the most common word is actually "*voiture*":


And what about ''*bagnole*'' ..? 
Probable dérivé, d’après le modèle de _carriole_, de _banne_, du bas latin _benna_, mot gaulois « sorte de chariot à quatre roues »



Circunflejo said:


> Spanish from Spain: automóvil (formal), coche (what most people says in daily life)


I was just curious about ''coche'' (definición)! 

Del húngaro _kocsi_ 'carruaje'.

1. m. Automóvil destinado al transporte de personas y con capacidad no superior a siete plazas.
2. m. Carruaje de cuatro ruedas de tracción animal, con una caja, dentro de la cual hay asiento para dos o más personas.
3. m. Vagón del tren o del metro.



Linnets said:


> Italian
> 
> Formal: _automobile_, _autovettura_,_ autoveicolo_.
> Informal: _auto_, _macchina._





Yendred said:


> Note that in Russian, the informal word is also маши́на (mashina), I guess both come from Latin _machina _(machine/engine).



In Polish we can say  , for example when you see a Ferrari on the street = ale maszyna !


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## Włoskipolak 72

raamez said:


> Arabic:
> *sayyarah سيّارة* (automobile/car) used to be the word for caravan in ancient times and was revived after the invention of automobiles. It derives from s-y-r to move
> 
> *markabah مركبة* (Vehicle) from r-k-b to ride/to get on, a cognate with the famous Israeli tank merkava. The word itself is at least five thousand years old
> 
> *maqTurah مقطورة (*wagon*)  *to be part of a qiTaar قطار. QiTaar in modern Arabic means train but in ancient times used to mean a convoy of camels. Another derivation of q-T-r is qaTreeb قطريب (one of the attaching parts inside a yoke)
> 
> *araba عربة (*cart*) *has no good explanation in Arabic and is thought to be of Persian origin or of some other Iranian languages.



How do you say in Arabic ?

(to) go by car ?
(to) go by foot ?


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## Yendred

Włoskipolak 72 said:


> In Polish we can say , for example when you see a Ferrari on the street = ale maszyna !


How do you pronounce _maszyna_?

Out of topic: I don't know from which language comes _maszyna_, but I know that _robot_ comes from Polish


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## Welsh_Sion

I know that _robot_ comes from Polish

_____

@Yendred I think you'll find that 'robot' comes from Czech. (Well, the English version does, anyway!) See the play by K. Capek, RUR or 'Rossum's Universal Robots' (1920).


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## Olaszinhok

Yendred said:


> Out of topic: I don't know from which language comes _maszyna_, but I know that _robot_ comes from Polish


It should come from Czech, as far as I know. Quite close, though.  
ROBOT : Etymologie de ROBOT.


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## Awwal12

merquiades said:


> I think it must come directly from the French _machine_


The German intermediate is quite likely, and it's impossible to tell for sure. Obviously it wasn't loaned from Latin directly.

Regarding Russian, I'd like to add  dated colloquial авто (avtó) and modern slangish тачка (táchka, lit. "wheelbarrow"). And, of course, the formal general term автомобиль (avtomobíl').


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## AutumnOwl

Finnish: auto
Swedish: bil, the word kärra (cart) is also sometimes used.


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## Linnets

Yendred said:


> How do you pronounce _maszyna_?


I guess [maˈʃɨna] (others would transcribe it [maˈʂˠɪna]).



Yendred said:


> Out of topic: I don't know from which language comes _maszyna_, but I know that _robot_ comes from Polish


From French, and in turn from Latin and Ancient Greek; _robot_ comes from Czech _robota_.



Welsh_Sion said:


> Capek


Čapek; the distinction between _c_ and _č_ is important in Slavic languages.


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## Welsh_Sion

My apologies to my brother-in-law and other Czechs in omitting the haček in Čapek.

(You may have noticed I spell my own name wrong on here not being able to add a circumflex to my 'o'.)


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## Yendred

Welsh_Sion said:


> @Yendred I think you'll find that 'robot' comes from Czech. (Well, the English version does, anyway!) See the play by K. Capek, RUR or 'Rossum's Universal Robots' (1920).





Olaszinhok said:


> It should come from Czech, as far as I know. Quite close, though.
> ROBOT : Etymologie de ROBOT





Linnets said:


> _robot_ comes from Czech _robota_.


Thank you all  I mistook the Czech origin with Polish. My bad. Happily you rectified it


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## raamez

Włoskipolak 72 said:


> How do you say in Arabic ?
> 
> (to) go by car ?


ذهب بالسيّارة thahaba bis-sayyarah,  literally he went with the car (Arabic has no infinitive form so you have to refer to the past singular male form)



Włoskipolak 72 said:


> (to) go by foot ?


ذهب سيراً على الأقدام thahaba sayran 'ala alaqdaam, literally he went walking on feet


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## apmoy70

Włoskipolak 72 said:


> How do you say in Arabic ?
> 
> (to) go by car ?
> (to) go by foot ?


May I hijack the answer? Greek is interesting in that, for _(to) go by car_ we use a periphrasis: *«με το αυτοκίνητο/αμάξι»* [ˈme̞ ˈto̞ a.fto̞ˈci.ni.to̞] or [ˈme̞ ˈto̞ aˈma.k͡si] --> lit. _with the car_, while to express _going somewhere by foot_ we use an ancient adverb that has been reintroduced with Katharevousa and is commonly used: *«πεζή»* [pe̞ˈzi] --> _by land, on foot_ < Classical adverb of manner *«πεζῇ» pĕzê̩* (idem), a pseudo-dativisation and adverbialization of Classical adjective *«πεζός, -ζή, -ζόν» pĕzós* (masc.), *pĕzḗ* (fem.), *pĕzón* (neut.) --> _traveller on land by foot, pedestrian_ < Classical neuter 3rd declension noun *«πούς» poús* (nom. sing.), *«ποδός» pŏdós* (gen. sing.).


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## raamez

apmoy70 said:


> May I hijack the answer? Greek is interesting in that, for _(to) go by car_ we use a periphrasis: *«με το αυτοκίνητο/αμάξι»* [ˈme̞ ˈto̞ a.fto̞ˈci.ni.to̞] or [ˈme̞ ˈto̞ aˈma.k͡si] --> lit. _with the car_, while to express _going somewhere by foot_ we use an ancient adverb that has been reintroduced with Katharevousa and is commonly used: *«πεζή»* [pe̞ˈzi] --> _by land, on foot_ < Classical adverb of manner *«πεζῇ» pĕzê̩* (idem), a pseudo-dativisation and adverbialization of Classical adjective *«πεζός, -ζή, -ζόν» pĕzós* (masc.), *pĕzḗ* (fem.), *pĕzón* (neut.) --> _traveller on land by foot, pedestrian_ < Classical neuter 3rd declension noun *«πούς» poús* (nom. sing.), *«ποδός» pŏdós* (gen. sing.).


Interesting! the word for man in Arabic is rajul derives from rijl leg/foot through a semantic shift from traveller by foot -> man.


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## Włoskipolak 72

Yendred said:


> Thank you all  I mistook the Czech origin with Polish. My bad. Happily you rectified it


_Robot_ is drawn from an old Church Slavonic word, _robota_, for “servitude,” “forced labor” or “drudgery.” The word, which also has cognates in German, Russian, Polish and Czech, was a product of the central European system of serfdom by which a tenant’s rent was paid for in forced labor or service. In early drafts of his play, Čapek named these creatures _labori_, after the Latinat root for _labor_, but worried that the term sounded too “bookish.” At the suggestion of his brother, Josef, Čapek ultimately opted for _roboti_, or in English, _robots_.

The Origin Of The Word 'Robot'


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## Włoskipolak 72

Yendred said:


> How do you pronounce _maszyna_?
> 
> Out of topic: I don't know from which language comes _maszyna_, but I know that _robot_ comes from Polish



maszyna = IPA: [maˈʃɨ̃na], AS: [maš*ỹ*na]

It's quite funny.., in Polish you can call somebody a maszyna , not a robot..  (osoba wykonująca coś automatycznie i bezmyślnie).
A person performing something automatically and thoughtlessly..


Curiously *machine *in some Slavic languages ( Serbo-Croatian , Slovene , Macedonian ?) has a different origin !

In Czech exists *mašina *and *stroj .*

From Old Czech _stroj_, from Proto-Slavic _**strojь*_.

Bulgarian
*строй* • ‎(stroj) = system, order, regime

Russian
*стро́ить *(stróitʹ)= to build, construct , make , form, dress up

Polish 

*stroić* (verb) =  to adorn, to deck, to decorate, to embellish , to tune a musical instrument , to overdress.
*stroić* (Old Polish) = to do , make , perform, perpetrate 

*strój *(noun)

tune
costume
dress
apparel
attire
attirement
get-up
getup
outfit
fancy dress

Polish (Aleksander Brückner 1927)

*strój,* _stroić, strojny_; _nastrój_, _nastrajać_; _strojniś_ (w 17. wieku i _strojnat_); _stroisz_, ‘dzierżak’; _strój_ dziś o ‘ubiorze’, pierwotnie tylko o ‘przyborach’ wszelakich: »wszelkiego _stroja_ spiewającego«, biblja (»wszelkiej muzyki«, Leopolita), _stroić_ w psałterzu i i. zawsze tylko ‘czynić, działać' (np. złość itp.), ale i: »palce _stroili_ są żałtarz«; w biblji »_stroić_ gody«, ‘urządzać’, »_strojący_ synów«, ‘przełożeni ich’; »_stroje_ bobrowe« (por. wyraz: _potrzeby_), »_stroje_ męskie«; _strój_, ‘sposób’; w cerk. _stroj_ ‘rząd’, _stroiti_ ‘sposobić’, u Słowieńców i Serbów _stroiti_ ‘garbować skórę’, rus. _stroj_ ‘rząd, szereg’; od pnia _strei_-. U Czechów _stroj_ ‘maszyna, mechanizm’.


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## Linnets

Włoskipolak 72 said:


> maszyna = IPA: [maˈʃɨ̃na]


That's the same transcription I posted. 



Włoskipolak 72 said:


> It's quite funny.., in Polish you can call somebody a maszyna , not a robot.. [...]
> A person performing something automatically and thoughtlessly..


Same in Italian, but you can call _macchina_ a robot and also a computer, that's common especially among computer nerds.
The word _macchina_ and similar has adapted to the various circumstances of different eras: in Ancient world it was a war machine, in the Middle Ages it was mill grinds (_macina_), in the Industrial Era a mechanical loom or a steam device, then a car and now a computer.


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## AndrasBP

The Georgian word for "car" is მანქანა (mankana), which comes from Greek _μᾱχᾰνᾱ́_ (mākhanā́), with an extra "n" added for some reason.

Georgian uses two different verbs to express possession, one for objects:

1) I *have *a house, a book, a key, a coat, etc...

and one for living beings (humans or animals):

2) I *have *a brother, a daughter, a horse, a dog, etc.

Now can you guess which type of "have" they use when they say "I have a car"? 
The second one, of course, because cars are not just objects, they have a "soul"!

OK, the real reason is probably just an analogy with horses, which Georgians used for most of their history to get around.


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## Perseas

AndrasBP said:


> The Georgian word for "car" is მანქანა (mankana), which comes from Greek _μᾱχᾰνᾱ́_ (mākhanā́), with an extra "n" added for some reason.


Perhaps, an old form of Georgian had borrowed the Anc. Greek word to describe something else initially?




AndrasBP said:


> OK, the real reason is probably just an analogy with horses, which Georgians used for most of their history to get around.


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## AndrasBP

Perseas said:


> Perhaps, an old form of Georgian had borrowed the Anc. Greek word to describe something else initially?


Well, the Ancient Greek word meant "machine" or "device", right?


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## Linnets

AndrasBP said:


> Well, the Ancient Greek word meant "machine" or "device", right?


Liddell-Scott entry.


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## Awwal12

Linnets said:


> Same in Italian, but you can call _macchina_ a robot and also a computer, that's common especially among computer nerds.


In Russian using "машина" for a computer is possible, although that usage sounds a bit dated to me, bringing computer classes in mind (here it's an apparent contraction from elektrónno-vychislítel'naya mashina, lit. "electronic-calculation machine", also abbreviated as ЭВМ /E.Ve.éM/, - a really formal term).


Włoskipolak 72 said:


> in Polish you can call somebody a maszyna , not a robot


In Russian it will be "a robot", unlikely "a machine" (probably because the latter is semantically overloaded).


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## Perseas

AndrasBP said:


> Well, the Ancient Greek word meant "machine" or "device", right?


Yes, also the Liddell-Scott entry in #48 is complete and enlightening.
I meant that, if it's a direct borrowing from Greek, it must be an old borrowing.


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