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Palabras españoles en inglés
The Spanish language has contributed numerous terms to English. Spanish is a Romance (Latin) language, so many of these terms come ultimately from Latin, while others are from various Native American or African languages.
Most Spanish words in English can be grouped into the following categories: food, animals, people, buildings, drugs, nature, and war. The second column offers some notes and the (literal meaning)
Animals |
|
alligator | from el lagarto (the lizard) |
alpaca | from Aymara word allpaca |
armadillo | diminutive of armado (armored), past participle of armar (to arm), from Latin armare (to arm), from arma (arms) |
barracuda | from barraco (overlapping tooth) |
bronco | (wild) |
cockroach | from cucharacha, from cuca (caterpillar) |
condor | from cóndor, from Quechua cuntur |
coyote | from Nahuatl cóyotl |
iguana | from Arawak iwana |
jaguar | from Guarani jaguá or yaguar (dog) |
llama | from Quechua |
mosquito | diminutive of mosca (fly), from Latin musca |
mustang | from American Spanish mesteño or mestengo (stray animal), from Old Spanish, from mesta (association of livestock owners), from Medieval Latin mixta (assorted) |
pinto | (piebald, spotted), from Vulgar Latin pinctus (painted) |
puma | from Quechua |
tuna | from atún, from Arabic at-tun (the tuna), from Latin thunnus |
Buildings and Places |
|
adobe | from Arabic atuba (the brick) |
alcove | from French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba, from Arabic al-qubba (the vault) |
barrio | from Arabic barri (of an open area), from barr (open area) |
cafeteria | from cafetería (coffee shop), from café (coffee), from Turkish qahveh |
hoosegow | from juzgado (courtroom, past participle of juzgar [to judge]), from Latin iudicare |
mosque | from French mosquée, from Old French mousquaie, from Old Italian moschea, from moscheta, from Old Spanish mezquita, from Arabic masjid |
patio | (courtyard) |
silo | ~unknown origin |
Drugs |
|
cigar | cigaro, poss. from Maya sik'ar, from sik (tobacco) |
cigarette | (small cigar), French diminutive of cigar, from cigaro, etc. |
cocaine | French cocaïne, from Spanish coca, from Quechua kúka |
marijuana | marihuana |
mescal | American Spanish, from Nahuatl mexcalli (mescal liquor) |
peyote | American Spanish, from Nahuatl peyotl |
sherry | alteration of sherris, from Spanish city of Xeres (Jerez) |
tobacco | tobaco |
Food Terms |
|
alfalfa | Spanish, from Arabic al-fashfasha, variant of fishfisha, from Persian aspist (clover) |
banana | from African languages Wolof, Mandingo, and Fulani |
burrito | diminutive of burro (donkey) |
chile, chili | type of pepper, from Nahuatl word chilli |
chocolate | from Nahuatl xocolatl (bitter water) |
cilantro | from Late Latin coliandrum, from Latin coriandrum |
con carne | (with meat) |
enchilada | ("chile peppered") |
guacamole | from Nahuatl ahuacamolli (avocado paste) |
lime | Spanish lima, from Arabic lima |
mole sauce | from Nahuatl molli (sauce, paste) |
nacho | possible diminutive of Ignacio or alteration of ñato (pug-nosed, ugly, poor) |
oregano | from orégano (wild majoram) |
potato | from patata, from Taino word batata (sweet potato), influenced by Quechua word papa (white potato) |
rusk | Spanish/Portuguese rosca (coil, rusk), perhaps diminutive of Latin rota (wheel) |
salsa | (sauce) |
sarsaparilla | zarzaparilla, from zarza (bramble), from Arabic sharas, variation of shirs, from sharasa (to be vicious) + parrilla, diminutive of parra (vine) |
taco | (plug, wad of money) |
tamale | from tamales, plural of tamal (tamale), from Nahuatl tamalli |
tomato | from tomate, from Nahuatl word tomatl |
tortilla | diminutive of torta (cake) |
vanilla | from vainilla, diminutive of vaina (sheath) due to the shape of vanilla pods |
Nature |
|
balsa | (raft) |
barranca | (gorge) |
canyon | cañon, augmentative of caña (tube, cane), from Latin canna (reed) |
hurricane | huracán, from Taino hurákan |
llano | (plain), from Latin planum, from planus (level) |
mesa | (table), from Old Spanish, from Latin mensa |
talc | French, from Old Spanish talco and Medieval Latin talcum, both from Arabic talq, from Persian talk |
tornado | alteration of tronada (thunderstorm) [poss. influenced by tornar (to turn)], from tronar (to thunder), from Latin tonare |
tornillo | American Spanish, from Spanish (small lathe, screw), diminutive of torno (lathe), from Latin tornus, from Greek tornos |
People |
|
aficionado | past participle of aficionar (to cause a liking for), from afición (liking), from Latin affectio/affection |
booby | probably from bobo (silly, stupid), from Latin balbus (stammering) |
cannibal | from Caníbalis (name of the allegedly cannibalistic Caribs of Cuba and Haiti as recorded by Christopher Columbus), from Carib karibna (person, Carib) |
matador | from matar (to kill) |
War |
|
armada | Spanish, from medieval Latin armata, from Latin feminine past participle of armare (to arm), from arma (arms) |
barrack | from French baraques, from Spanish barracas (soldiers' tents, huts) |
comrade | from French camarade, from Old French (roommate), from old Spanish camarada (barracks company, roommate), from camara (room), from late Latin camera (chamber), from Latin (vault), from Greek kamara |
desperado | desesperado (desperate person), past participle of desesperar (to despair), from Latin desperare |
guerrilla | (little war, raiding party), diminutive of guerra (war) |
junta | Spanish/Portuguese (conference), perhaps from Vulgar Latin past participle of iungere (to join) |
renegade | renegado, from Medieval Latin renegatus, past participle of renegare (to deny) |
vigilante | (watchman), from Latin vigilans, vigilant-, present participle of vigilare (to be watchful), from vigil (watchful) |
Miscellaneous |
|
bonanza | Spanish, from Medieval Latin bonancia (calm sea), from Latin bonus (good) + Medieval Latin malacia (calm sea) |
bravado | French bravade and Old Spanish bravada (swagger, bravery), both from Vulgar Latin brabus |
cargo | from cargar (to load), from Late Latin carricare, from Latin carrus (type of wagon) |
embargo | from embargar (to impede), from Vulgar Latin imbarricare (to barricade) |
guitar | French guitare, from Spanish guitarra, from Greek kithara (cithara) |
hammock | hamaca, from Taino |
lariat | la reata, from reatar (to tie again) |
lasso | lazo, from Vulgar Latin laceum (noose) |
peccadillo | pecadillo, diminutive of pacado (sin) + Italian paccadiglio, diminutive of peccato (sin), both from Latin peccatum, from peccare (to sin) |
ranch | American Spanish rancho (small farm), from Spanish (hut, group of people who eat together), from Old Spanish rancharse (to be billeted), from Old French se ranger (to be arranged) |
rodeo | (corral), from rodear (to surround), from rueda (wheel), from Latin rota |
savvy | from [Ud.] sabe (you know), from saber (to know), from Old Spanish, from Vulgar Latin sapere, from Latin sapere (to be wise) |
siesta | Spanish, from Latin sexta (sixth hour, midday) |
sombrero | Spanish, possibly from sombra (shade), from sombrar (to shade), from Late Latin subumbrare (to cast a shadow) |
stampede | estampida (uproar, stampede), from Provençal, from estampir (to stamp), ultimately from German |
vamoose | from vamos (let's go), from Latin vadamus, subjunctive conjugation of vadere (to go) |
Etymology Notes Source: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
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