List of English words of Spanish origin

This is a list of English language words whose origin can be traced to the Spanish language as "Spanish loan words". Many of them are identical in other Romance languages (mainly Portuguese or Italian), but their passage into English is believed to be through Spanish.

Most these words came to English from Castilian and American Spanish dialects, which in turn got them from various sources including English ("turista").

A

abaca

via Spanish abacá from Tagalog abaká

abalone

from Spanish abulón, from Ohlone aluan or Rumsen awlun.

adios

from Spanish "goodbye

adobe

From Egyptian via Arabic "Al-tub"

aficionado

from Latin affectio "affection.

albatross

from alcatraz, see below.

Alcatraz

(meaning "gannet") from Arabic غطاس al-ġaţţās ("the diver")

alidade

via French, Spanish alidada and Medieval Latin alhidade from Arabic العهدة al-idada, "the revolving radius"

alligator

from el lagarto, "the lizard"

alpaca

from Spanish, from Aymara allpaka/allpaqa

aludel

from Old French alutel, via Spanish and Medieval Latin from Arabic الأثال al-ʾuṯāl, "the sublimation vessel"

amigo

from Spanish and/or Portuguese amigo, "friend"; from Latin amicus meaning "friend," derived from amare (to love).

amole

Mexican Spanish from Nahautl amolli meaning "soap root."

amontillado

from the village of Montilla, Province of Córdoba, Spain

ancho

from Mexican Spanish (chile) ancho, "wide (chili)"

anchovy

from Spanish anchoa or more probably Portuguese anchova meaning "bluefish"; from Genoese or Corsican dialect; ultimately from Latin apua meaning "small fish" and Greek Αφυε aphye meaning "small fry" or from Basque anchuva meaning "dry"

Angeleno

from American Spanish

Apache

from Mexican Spanish from Yavapai ´epache meaning "people" or from Zuni apachu" meaning "enemy"

armada

"armed [fleet]" from the Spanish navy, La armada española

armadillo

from armadillo, "little armored one"

arroyo

from arroyo, "stream"

avocado

alteration of Spanish aguacate, from Nahuatl ahuacatl which also means "testicle" in that language.

ayahuasca

via Spanish from Quechua ayawaska meaning "soul vine."

B

banana

from Spanish or Portuguese banana, probably from a Wolof word, or from Arabic بأننا “ba’ nana” fingers

bandolier

from Spanish bandolera, meaning "band (for a weapon or other) that crosses from one shoulder to the opposite hip" and bandolero, loosely meaning "he who wears a bandolier"

barbecue

from the Chibcha word barbacoa

barracuda

from barracuda May have come from barraco, meaning overlapping tooth

barranca

from Spanish barranca or barranco, ravine

barrio

from Spanish barrio, "neighborhood", from Arabic بري barri, wild

bastinado

from bastonada, from Spanish bastón, cane

bodega

from Spanish and/or Portuguese bodega, meaning cellar

bolero

from Spanish bolero

bonanza

from bonanza meaning "prosperity"

bonito

from Spanish bonito, meaning "beautiful"

breeze

from brisa "cold northeast wind" or from Frisian briesen - to blow (wind)

bronco

from bronco meaning "coarse"

buckaroo

from vaquero meaning "cowboy"

burrito

from burrito, a dish originally from Northern Mexico, literally "little donkey"

burro

from burro, "donkey"

C

caballero

from Spanish caballero meaning "knight/gentleman", from caballo, "horse"

cabana

from Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabana; both meaning "cabin."

cacique

from Spanish, from Taino cacike or Arawak kassequa, both meaning a chief

cafeteria

from cafetería, "coffee store"

calaboose

from Vulgar Latin calafodium "to dig a protected place" and Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo

caldera (used in geology)

from Spanish caldera meaning "cauldron" from Latin caldaria, "cooking pot."

California

place name first seen in print in 1510 Spanish novel 'Las sergas de Esplandián' by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo

camarilla

from camarilla, "small room"

camino

from camino a path or road, from caminar to walk

cannibal

from Spanish caníbal, alteration of caríbal, from Caribe

canoe

from Spanish canoa, from Haitian canaoua

canyon

from cañón meaning "a pipe, tube, gorge" from cano, "tube;" ultimately from Latin canna meaning "reed."

carabao

from Spanish from Visayan language kalabaw, from Malay language kerabau.

caramba

from Spanish, meaning "heck"; expression of dread, displeasure, or disapproval, euphemism for carajo

carbonado

from carbonada, from carbón meaning "coal"

cargo

from the verb cargar meaning "to load"

Caribbean

from Spanish Caribe, from name of Carib Indians of the region.

cassava

from cazabe, from Taino caçábi

caudillo

from caudillo, from Latin capitellium "head" meaning "leader"

cedilla

from cedilla, archaic spelling zedilla (little z), "elsewhere"

chaparral

from Spanish, chaparro loosely meaning small evergreen oak, from Basque txapar, "small, short"

chaps

from Mexican Spanish chaparreras, leg protectors for riding through chaparral

chayote

from Spanish, literally: "squash", from Nahuatl chayotl meaning "spiny squash"

chicha

from Spanish chicha, from Kuna chichab, meaning "maize" or from Nahuatl chichiatl, "fermented water."

chicle

from chicle "gum", from Nahuatl tzictli "squishy stuff" or Mayan tsicte.

chile

from Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chilli

chipotle

from Spanish, smoked jalapeño, from Nahuatl chilpoctli

chocolate

from Spanish chocolate, from Nahuatl xocolatl meaning "hot water" or from a combination of the Mayan word chocol meaning "hot" and the Nahuatl word atl meaning "water."

Choctaw

from the native name Chahta of unknown meaning but also said to come from Spanish chato (="flattened") because of the tribe's custom of flattening the heads of male infants.

chorizo

from chorizo, "saussage"

churro

from churro, "fritter"

cigar

from Spanish cigarro meaning "fag, stogie, stogy", from Mayan sicar or sic, "tobacco"

cigarette

from French cigarette "little weed", diminutive of French cigare "stogie", from Spanish cigarro meaning "fag (UK), stogie, stogy."

cilantro

from Spanish cilantro, "coriander"

coca

from Spanish, coca meaning "coke", from Quechua kúka

cockroach

from Spanish cucaracha

cocoa or cacao

from Spanish cacao, from Nahuatl cacáhuatl

cojones

from Spanish cojones meaning "balls, testicules", to denote courage

Colorado

from Spanish colorado, red or colored

comrade

from French camarade meaning "friend", from Spanish camarada, "pal, mate"

condor

from Spanish, from Quechua cuntur

conquistador

from conquistador meaning "conquerer", from conquista, "conquest"

coquina

from coquina, dim. form of "concha" meaning seashell; a sedimentary rock of NE Florida

cordillera

from cordillera, "range"

corral

from corral meaning "pen, yard" from Portuguese curral meaning "pen" of unknown; perhaps ultimately from Afrikaans kraal or from Vulgar Latin currale loosely meaning "enclosure for vehicles."

corrida

a bullfight (literally: "race")

coyote

from Spanish coyote, from Nahuatl coyotl

creole

from French créole, from Spanish criollo, from Portuguese crioulo, raised in the house

crimson

from Old Spanish cremesín, via Medieval Latin cremesinus from Arabic قيرميزل qirmizI, from Persian قرمز qermez kermes; ultimately from Sanskrit कृमिज krmi-ja meaning "worm-made."

crusade

blend of Middle French croisade and Spanish cruzada; both ultimately from Latin cruc-, crux cross

cumbia

from Spanish cumbia, a popular dance (for couples) originating in Colombia, Panama and Argentina

D

daiquiri

from Daiquiri, a port city in eastern Cuba

dengue

from Spanish dengue meaning "fever", from Swahili dinga, "seizure"

desperado

from Spanish desesperado, desperate

E

El Dorado

from El Dorado, literally, "the golden one"

El Niño

from El Niño de la Navidad, literally, "the Christmas child" due to the warming of Pacific waters seemed to warm around Christmas

embarcadero

from embarcadero a boat dock

embargo

from Spanish embargar, to "seize" or "impound"

escabeche

from escabeche, "pickle"

F

fiesta

from the Spanish fiesta meaning "party"

Florida

from La Florida, the flowery or plant-filled place or pascua florida, "flowery Easter."

G

guacamole

via American Spanish from Nahuatl ahuaca-molli ("avocado sauce")

guerrilla

from Spanish "small war"

H

habanero

from the Spanish for the name of the Cuban city of La Habana, which is known as Havana in English. Although it is not the place of origin, it was frequently traded there.

hacienda

from Old Spanish facienda, "estate"

hackamore

from Spanish jaquima, "halter."

hombre

from Spanish "hombre" same as man and he-man: macho or very strong, tough, and masculine man.

hoosegow

from Spanish juzgado, courthouse, from juzgar, to judge

hurricane

from Spanish huracán, from Taino hurákan; akin to Arawak kulakani, thunder

I

Inca

from Spanish inca, from Quechua Inka, literally: "lord, king."

incommunicado

from incomunicado, "in solitary confinement."

iguana

from Spanish iguana from Arawak iwana.

J

jade

from Spanish piedra de ijada, "stone of flank."

jalapeño

from Spanish, a type of spicy chilli named after Jalapa de Enríquez, a town in Mexico, and the capital of the state of Veracruz

jerky

from Spanish charqui, from Quechua ch'arki, "dried flesh"

junta

from Spanish junta literally "joint"; a board of joint administration; sometimes used to refer to military officers command in a coup d'état. As an adjective, it means "together".

K

key

from Spanish cayo, from Taino cayo (this is English 'key'/'cay'/'quay' as in an island, reef or a linked series of them, not the 'key' with which one locks/unlocks)

L

lariat

from la reata, meaning "the strap, rein, or rope" from reatar ("to tie again") from atar "to tie (up);" from Latin aparte, "to join."

lasso

via American English from Spanish lazo meaning "tie;" ultimately from Latin laqueum, "noose, snare."

llama

from Spanish llama, from Quechua llama

loco

from loco, "mad" or "crazy"

Lolita

from the diminutive for Lola, short for Dolores

M

macho

from macho, male, brave, the property of being overtly masculine. In Spanish is masculinity

majordomo

via Spanish mayordomo or Italian maggiordomo (both meaning "butller") from Latin maior domus meaning "mayor of the place."

matador

from matador meaning "killer" from matar ("to kill") probably from Arabic مات mata meaning "he died", also possibly cognate with Persian مردن mordan, "to die" as well as English "murder." Another theory is that the word "matador" is derived from a combination of the Vulgar Latin mattāre, from Late Latin mactare (to slaughter, kill) and the Latin -tor (which is cognate with Greek τορ -tōr and Sanskrit तर -tar-.)

mesa

from mesa, table. The corresponding Spanish word to a flat top mountain is meseta

mescal

from Spanish mezcal, from Nahuatl mexcalli

mesquite

from Mexican Spanish mezquite, from Nahuatl mizquitl

mestizo

from mestizo, "racially mixed." in Spanish, refers to a person of mixed European-native American descent

mojito

dim. formed from "mojado" (wet or dripping) probably referring to the mint leaves in the well known Cuban drink

mole

from Spanish, from Nahuatl molle or molli ("sauce")

Montana

from montaña, a mountain

mosquito

from mosquito, literally "little fly"

mulatto

from Spanish or Portuguese mulato meaning "octoroon, sambo". in Spanish, refers to a person of mixed European-African descent. it is not derogatory

mustang

from mestengo or mesteño, "without known master or owner" (archaic)

mustee

from mestizo, "racially mixed."

N

nacho

from Nacho, a nickname for the given name Ignacio, inventor of the snack

nada

from "Nada" meaning " nothing."

negro

from Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian negro, "black", from Latin Nigrum (nom. niger) and Greek Νέγρος Negros, both meaning "black.". In Spanish it is not derogatory.

Nevada

from Nevada literally "snowy"

nostromo

from nuestro amo, "our master".

O

olé

an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similar to the Italian bravo (capable), by spectators of bull fights or football (soccer) matches

oregano

from orégano, "marjoram"

P

pachuco

from pachuco, "fancy-dresser."

paella

from Spanish paella, from Valencian paella "pan" and originated in Latin patella, also meaning "pan."

palmetto

from palmito, "palm heart, little palm", diminutive form of the word for palm.

pampa

from Spanish, from Quechua pampa, plain

papaya

from japaya, akin to Arawak papáia

patio

from patio, inner courtyard, "an open paved area adjacent to a home"

peccadillo

from pecadillo, "small sin"

peccary

from Spanish pecarí, from Carib pakira or paquira.

peon

from Spanish peón ("laborer")

peyote

from Spanish, from Nahuatl peyotl ("caterpillar")

Philippines

via Spanish Filipinas from Latin Philippinae, "islands of king Philip II of Spain"; ultimately from Greek Φιλιππίναι Philippinai from the Greek phrase Φίλος ίππος Νησιά Fílos Íppos Ni̱sí, "Islands of the Horse Friend."

piccadill

from picadillo, "hash"

pimento or pimiento

from pimiento, "pepper."

piña colada

from Spanish piña (pineapple), and colada, which means strained, from the Spanish verb colar ("to strain")

piñata

from piñata ("jug, pot") from Latin pinea, "pine cone."

pinta

from pinta, "he/she/it paints"; also archaic Spanish for pintada, "painted"

Piragua

from the combination of Spanish words Pirámide ("pyramid") and Agua meaning "water"

pisco

from pisco, "turkey"

placer mining

from placer, "sand bank"

platinum

from platina, "little silver" (now "Platino")

playa

from playa, "beach"

plaza

from plaza, "public square, spot or place"

politico

from Spanish or Italian politico meaning "politician, political agent;" ultimately from Latin politicus meaning "of citizens or the state, civil, civic," from Greek πολιτικός (Ancient Greek: πολῑτικός) politikos, "of citizens or the state," from πολίτης (plural: πολίτες) polites (citizen) from πόλις polis, "city."

poncho

from poncho, from Araucanian pontho meaning "woolen fabric."

potato

from European Spanish patata, itself from batata, "sweet potato", from Taino and papa, "potato" from Quechua

pronto

from Spanish "soon, prompt"

pronunciamento

from pronunciamiento proclamation, "military coup d'état", usually establishing a military dictatorship (often a junta)

puma

from Spanish "cougar, panther", from Quechua

pueblo

via Castilian pueblo from Latin populus ("people").

Q

quadroon

from cuarterón, "fourth"

quesadilla

from quesadilla loosely meaning a traditional Mexican dish made with tortillas and cheese, diminutive of "queso", cheese.

Quetzal

from Spanish, from Nahuatl "quetzalli": a group of colourful birds of the trogon family found in tropical regions of the Americas. It also may refer to Guatemalan quetzal, the currency of Guatemala.

quinoa

from Spanish quinua, from Quechua kinua

Quinceañera

From Spanish Quince años, literally: "fifteen years"; a girl's fifteenth birthday celebration similar to a sweet sixteen; popular celebrations include trips to Disneyland, barbecues with the family and soccer matches at the park. A crucial ritual.

quirt

from Spanish cuarta literally: "quarter"; a short horseman's whip, from "one fourth" (of a vara)

R

ranch

from rancho, a very small rural community, smaller than a town; also a very humble dwelling in South America.

reconquista

from reconquista, "reconquest"

remuda

from Mexican Spanish remudar, to exchange (horses)

renegade

from renegado, "turncoat, heretic, disowned"

robalo

from Spanish róbalo meaning "bass, sea wolf," a tropical marine game and fish food

roble

from Spanish roble, a California oak tree

rodeo

from rodeo and verb rodear (to go around)

rumba

from rumba

S

saguaro

from saguaro, from Piman

salsa

from salsa, "sauce"

sapodilla

from zapotillo

sarabande

from French sarabande in turn from Spanish zarabanda

savanna

from sabana, "veld", from Taino zabana

savvy

from Spanish or Portuguese sabe, "knows"; sabio, wise, learned.

shack

perhaps from Mexican Spanish jacal meaning "hut", from Nahuatl xacalli

sherry

from Old Spanish Xerés [ʃeˈɾes], modern Spanish Jerez [xeˈɾeθ].

Sierra

from sierra, a saw

siesta

from siesta, "nap", from Latin Sexta [hora] "sixth hour"

silo

from silo

sombrero

from sombrero (literally, shade maker), "hat"

stampede

from estampida

stockade

from a French derivation of the Spanish estocada, "stab"

T

taco

from taco, "plug"

tamale

from Spanish tamales, pl. of tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli meaning dumpling made from corn flour

tango

from Spanish tango.

tapioca

from tapioca, "cassava"

ten-gallon hat

from Spanish tan galán meaning "so gallant (looking)"; alternate theory is the gallon of Texas English here is a misunderstanding of galón meaning braid

temblor

Spanish for trembling, or earthquake; from temblar, to shake, from Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, from Latin tremulus

tequila

from tequila

telenovela, or telenovella

from telenovela, "soap opera"

tilde

from tilde

tobacco

from Spanish (Nahuatl influenced) tabaco, "snuff", .

tomatillo

from Spanish tomatillo, "small tomate" (see Physalis philadelphica)

tomato

from Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl xitomatl

torero

from toro, "bull"

tornado

from Spanish tronada, "thunderstorm", influenced by tornar, "to turn"

tortilla

from tortilla, "little cake". Currently means "omelet" in Spain; in Spanish America = small cake of either corn meal or wheat flour

tuna

from Spanish atún, from Arabic تون tun, from Latin thunnus, from Greek θύννος, thynnos (=tuna fish)

turista

from turista, "tourist"

V

vamoose

from vamos, meaning "let's go"

vanilla

from Spanish vainilla, diminutive of Latin vaina, from vagina meaning "pod"

Vertigo from the Spanish word Vertigo

vicuña

from Spanish, from Quechua wikunna

vigilante

from Spanish vigilante, meaning "watchman."

W

wop

from Italian guappone, from Spanish guapo, "handsome" or "attractive".

Z

Zorro

from Spanish zorro, a fox, originally "smart"

See also

• List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin

External links

• Montague, Artur, El elemento español en el vocabulario inglés: prolegómenos a una lista. AIH. Actas IV (1971). (in Spanish)
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Real Academia Española Spanish dictionary
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