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), but their ultimate origin is from Spanish.

;abaca : via Spanish from Tagalog "abaká";abalone : from Spanish "abulón", from Ohlone; [;alidade : via French and Spanish from Arabic "al-idada", "the revolving radius";alligator : from "el lagarto", "the lizard";alpaca : from Spanish, from Aymara "allpaka";aludel : from Old French "alutel", via Spanish from Arabic "al-utal", "the sublimation vessel";amarillo: is the English word "yellow ";amigo : from Spanish and/or Portuguese "amigo", "friend";amole : Mexican Spanish;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";Angeleno : from American Spanish;Apache : from Mexican Spanish;armada : from the Spanish navy, "La armada española" ;armadillo : from "armadillo", "little armed one" ;arroyo : from "arroyo", "stream";avocado : alteration of Spanish "aguacate", from Nahuatl "ahuacatl";ayahuasca;Aztec;Azul: is in English the colr "blue"

B

;banana : from Spanish or Portuguese "banana", probably from a Wolof word - Arabic "ba' nana" fingers;bandolier : from Spanish "bandolera", ="band (for a weapon or other) that crosses from one shoulder to the opposite hip" and "bandolero", ="he who wears a bandolier";barbecue : from the Chibcha word "barbacoa";barracuda : from "barracuda";barranca : from Spanish "barranca" or "barranco", ="ravine";barradio : from Spanish "barrio", "neighborhood", from Arabic "barri";barrio : from Spanish "barrio", "neighborhood", from Arabic "barri";bastinado : from "bastonada", from Spanish "bastón", cane;blanco: means the color "white";bodega : from Spanish and/or Portuguese "bodega", ="cellar";bolas : from Spanish "bolas", ="balls";bolero : from Spanish "bolero";bonanza : from "bonanza";bonito : from Spanish "bonito", ="beautiful";booby : from Spanish "bobo" ="silly";breeze : from "brisa" or from Frisian "briesen" - to blow (wind) Fact|date=February 2007;bronco or broncho : from "bronco";buckaroo : from "vaquero", ="cowboy";burrito : from "burrito", = a dish originally from Northern Mexico, literally "little donkey";burro : from "burro", ="donkey"

C

;caballero : from Spanish "caballero", from "caballo", ="horse";cabana : from Spanish "cabaña" or Portuguese "cabana";cacique : from Spanish, from Taino, a chief;cafeteria : from "cafetería", "coffee store";calaboose : from Louisiana French "calabouse", from Spanish "calabozo";caldera (used in geology) : from Spanish "caldera", "=cauldron";California : place name first seen in print in 1510 Spanish novel "Las Sergas de Esplandían" by García Ordóñez 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";carabao: from Spanish from Visayan language, from Malay language.;caramba: from Spanish ; expression of dread, displeasure, or disapproval, euphemism for "carajo" ="penis";carbonado : from "carbonada", from "carbón" ="coal";cargo : from "cargo, carga" ="load";Caribbean : from Spanish "Caribe", from name of Carib Indians of the region.;cassava : from "cazabe", from Taino "caçábi";caudillo : from "caudillo";cedilla : from "cedilla", archaic spelling "zedilla" (little z);chaparral : from Spanish, "chaparro" = small evergreen oak, from Basque "txapar";chaps : from Mexican Spanish "chaparreras", leg protectors for riding through chaparral;chayote : from Spanish, from Nahuatl "chayotl";chicha : from Spanish "chicha", from Panama native American language "chichab", ="maize";chicle : from "chicle", from Nahuatl "tzictli";chile : from Spanish "chile", from Nahuatl "chilli";chipotle : from Spanish, smoked jalapeño, from Nahuatl "chilpoctli";chocolate : from Spanish "chocolate", from Nahuatl "xocolatl";churros : from "churros";cigar : from Spanish "cigarro", from Mayan "sicar", "sic" (="tobacco") ;cigarette : from French "cigarette", diminutive of French "cigare", from Spanish "cigarro";cilantro : from Spanish "cilantro', "coriander";coca : from Spanish, "coca", from Quechua "kúka";cockroach : from Spanish "cucaracha";cocoa or cacao : from Spanish "cacao", from Nahuatl "cacáhuatl";Colorado: from Spanish "colorado", red or colored;comrade : from French "camarade", from Spanish "camarada";condor : from Spanish, from Quechua "cuntur";conquistador : from "conquistador", from "conquista"="conquest";coquina : from "coquina", dim. form of "concha" = seashell; a sedimentary rock of NE Florida;cordillera : from "cordillera";corral : from "corral";corrida: a bullfight;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", from Arabic "qirmizI", from "qirmiz" kermes;crusade : blend of Middle French "croisade" & 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", 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 bar"

F

;fiador : from Colonial Spanish "fiador";Florida: Really "La Florida" , Easter Florida

H

;Hacienda : from Old Spanish "facienda";hackamore : from Spanish "jaquima";hoosegow: from Spanish "juzgado," courthouse, from "juzgar", to judge

I

;Inca : from Spanish "inca", from Quechua ;incommunicado : from "incomunicado" ;iguana : from Spanish "iguana" from Arawak

J

;jaguar : from Spanish "jaguar" from Guaraní "yaguar";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 or junto: from Spanish "junta", a group of leaders, usually military officers in a coup d'état. As an adjective it means "together".

K

;key : from Spanish "cayo", from Taino (this is English 'key'/'cay'/'quay' as in an island, reef or a linked series of them, not the 'key' with which you lock/unlock)

L

;lariat : from "la reata", = the strap, rein, or rope;lasso : from Spanish "lazo";loco : from "loco", ="mad, crazy";Lolita : from the diminutive for Lola, short for Dolores

M

;malpais : from Spanish "mal país";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";mojito : dim. formed from "mojado" = dipped, or wet, probably referring to the mint in the drink;mole : from Spanish, from Nahuatl "molli" (="sauce");Montana: from "montaña", a mountain;mosquito : from "mosquito", literally "little fly";mulatto : from Spanish or Portuguese "mulato";mustang :from "mestengo" or "mesteño", ="without known master or owner" (archaic);mustee : from "mestizo"

N

;nacho : from "Nacho", a nickname for the given name "Ignacio", inventor of the snack;negro : from Spanish or Portuguese "negro", ="black";Nevada: from "Nevada" literally "snowy"

O

;olé : an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similar to the Italian "bravo", used by spectators of bull fights or football (soccer) matches;oregano : from "orégano"

P

;pachuco : from "pachuco";paella : from Spanish "paella", from Catalan "paella" (saucepan);palmetto : from "palmito";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 Guaraní;peon : from Spanish "peón" (="laborer");peyote : from Spanish, from Nahuatl "peyotl" (="caterpillar");Philippines : from Latin ="islands of king Philip II of Spain", in Spanish "Filipinas";piccadill : from "picadillo";pimento or pimiento : from "pimiento";pinta : from "pinta";piña colada : from Spanish "piña" = pineapple and "colada" = enamored with, crazy about;pisco : from "pisco";placer mining : from "placer", ="sand bank";platinum : from "platina", ="little silver" (now "Platino");playa : from "playa";plaza : from "plaza',' ="public square, spot or place";poncho : from "poncho", from Araucanian;posada : from "posada";potato : from European Spanish "patata", itself from "batata", = "sweet potato", from Taino and "papa", "potato" from Quechua;potrero : from Colonial Spanish "potrero";pronunciamento : from "pronunciamiento" proclamation, ="military coup d'état", usually establishing a military dictatorship (often a junta);puma : from Spanish, from Quechua;puna : from "puna", from Quechua

Q

;quadroon : from "cuarterón";quechua : from Spanish, from Quechua "qishwa", valley of temperate weather;Quemada : from Spanish "quemada";Quemazon : from Spanish "quemazón";quesadilla : from "quesadilla", diminutive of "queso" = cheese;quinoa : from Spanish "quinua", from Quechua "kinua";quirt : from Spanish "cuarta" = a short horseman's whip, from "one fourth" (of a vara)

R

;ranch : from "rancho", a hut;reconquista : from "reconquista" ="reconquest";remuda : from Mexican Spanish "remudar", to exchange (horses);renegade : from "renegado";rincon : from Spanish "rincón";robalo : from Spanish "róbalo," 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"

;saguaro : from "saguaro", from Piman;salsa : from "salsa", ="sauce";sapodilla : from "zapotillo";sarabande : from French "sarabande" in turn from Spanish "zarabanda";savanna : from "sabana", from Taino "zabana";savvy : from Spanish or Portuguese "sabe", "knows";shack : perhaps from Mexican Spanish "jacal", from Nahuatl "xacalli";sherry : from Old Spanish "Xerés" [ʃe'ɾes] , modern Spanish Jerez [xe'ɾeθ] ;sierra : from "sierra", a saw;siesta : from "siesta", ="nap", maybe lusism, from Latin "Sexta [hora] ";silo : from "silo";sombrero : from "sombrero" (literally, shade maker), ="hat";stampede : from "estampida";stockade : from a French derivation of the Spanish "estacada"

T

;taco : from "taco";tamale : from Spanish "tamales", pl. of "tamal", from Nahuatl "tamalli", dumpling made from corn flour;tango : from Spanish "tango", from Latin "tango" ="I touch";tapioca : from "tapioca";ten-gallon hat: from Spanish "tan galán" = how gallant (looking); alternate theory is the gallon of Texas English here is a misunderstanding of "galón" = braid;tequila : from "tequila";tilde : from "tilde";tiri : from "tiro";tobacco: from Spanish "tabaco";tomatillo : from Spanish "tomatillo", ="small tomate" (see Physalis philadelphica);tomato : from Spanish "tomate", from Nahuatl "xitomatl";toreador : from "toreador";torero : from "torero", from "toro" ="bull";tornado : from Spanish "tornado";tortilla : from "tortilla", "little "torta" = cake. Currently means "omelet" in Spain; in Spanish America = small cake of either corn meal or wheat flour;tuna : from Spanish "atún", from Arabic "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", from "vaina",="pod";vicuña : from Spanish, from Quechua "wikunna"

W

;wrangler : shortened from Spanish "caballerango", a groom (for horses)

Z

;Zorro : from Portuguese/Spanish "zorro", a fox, originally "smart"

ee also

*List of Spanish words of Indigenous American Indian origin

External links

* [http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/aih/pdf/04/aih_04_2_027.pdf Montague, Artur, "El elemento español en el vocabulario inglés: prolegómenos a una lista." AIH. Actas IV (1971). (in Spanish)]
* [http://www.etymonline.com/ Online Etymology Dictionary]
* [http://buscon.rae.es/diccionario/drae.htm Real Academia Española Spanish dictionary]