The Spanish lado (“side”) comes from the Latin latus (“wide”).
There are many surprising English words from the same Latin root. “Surprising” largely because the l-t sound was preserved in English but evolved into the similar l-d sound in Spanish–thus making the connection less obvious but still interesting.
Some examples include:
- Lateral, and its variations such as, unilateral, bilateral and multilateral.
- Latitude: the latitude is literally the width from one side to the other.
- Dilate: a dilation is indeed a widening.
- Relate: literally means, “to go back to the side”; relating to someone is going to their side of the fence!
- Elation: From the Latin ex-latus (and ex- is, of course, “above”); thus literally, “rising above the sides”.
- Collateral: From com + latus (com is Latin for “with, together”, like the Spanish con-); thus literally meaning, “side by side”.
- Translate: Since trans– is Latin for “across”, a translation is literally, “bringing something from one side across to another.”
