Topics: Phonetics


Metathesis is a sound change that involves the transposition of sounds in a word.

There are many examples of words that underwent metathesis in Spanish:

  • Cocodrilo from Latin crocodilus
  • Palabra from Latin parabola
  • Milagro from Latin miraculum
  • Peligro from Latin periculum

In English, compare three, thirteen and thirty. Also compare:

  • French moustique and Spanish mosquito
  • French croute and Spanish costra
  • Spanish chimenea and French cheminée
  • French fromage and Italian formaggio