The origins of terms and their development through history.
27
votes
3answers
524 views
Origin and usage of “¿” and “¡”
English
I was wondering what the reason is that the inverted exclamation mark ¡ and the inverted question mark ¿ were introduced into the Spanish language and not into most other languages.
Any ...
24
votes
4answers
2k views
Why “buenas noches” when it's only one night?
Why are buenas noches and buenas tardes said when they refer to only one night/afternoon?
¿Por qué se dice "buenas noches" y "buenas tardes" cuando solo se refieren solo a una noche o tarde?
17
votes
1answer
496 views
Preterit of ser and ir
Español
Pretérito de ser:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
Pretérito de ir:
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron
¿Cómo han evolucionado los verbos "ser" e "ir" para tener ...
16
votes
3answers
212 views
How did “asistir” and “atender” become opposite of their cognates in english?
"Atender" is translated as to assist in spanish, while "asistir" is translated as "to attend". These words seem to be cognates of each other, but have opposite meanings when translated. How did this ...
15
votes
1answer
474 views
¿Por qué es la palabra «mano» femenina?
En español, tenemos una regla en la cual, generalmente, se puede tener fé. Si una palabra termina con -o, es masculina. Sin embargo, palabras que terminan en -e o -a también pueden ser palabras ...
14
votes
4answers
863 views
Why don't Spanish words start with “sp”?
I've noticed that there aren't any words in Spanish that start with sp. Latin words are altered to include an e in front of the sp. Even loan words are often modified to esp...:
spaghetti => ...
13
votes
1answer
314 views
Why are certain words ending in “a” masculine?
English:
I'm referring to words like "el tema" or "el lema". Most words ending in "a" are feminine.
This is actually the opposite of a similar question,
¿Por qué es la palabra ...
12
votes
4answers
559 views
¿Cómo se pueden identificar palabras árabes en español?
Español
Yo sé que los musulmanes, cuando conquistaron España, impactaron en gran medida al idioma. Hay palabras en español que son prestadas (y ahora son una parte del idioma). ¿Hay un método con ...
12
votes
1answer
89 views
Is “al” a relatively new word?
I am curious about the history of the word "al". For example, was there a time when "a el" was the proper usage and "al" came later (presumably because of the slurring of speech)?
12
votes
4answers
534 views
¿Cuál es la etimología de “al fin y al cabo”?
La expresión fijada "al fin y al cabo" en Inglés sería algo como "at the end of the day, in the end, after all".
Pero quería saber, ¿se conoce la etimología? En la entrada "al fin y al cabo" en ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Why isn't “good morning” “buenas mañanas”?
"Good afternoon" is "buenas tardes", and "Good night/evening" is "buenas noches".
Then why isn't "good morning" "buenas mañanas" instead of "buenos días"?
11
votes
2answers
174 views
Origin of contigo and similar “contractions”
What's the history of the words contigo, conmigo, etc?
They're treated like contractions for con ti and con mi, respectively, but they actually make the word longer rather than shorter, as ...
10
votes
2answers
234 views
Why does saber mean both “to know” and “to taste”?
Español
Cuando aprendía español, estaba muy confundido cuando aprendí que saber significa "to know" y "to taste". Los dos verbos en inglés me parecen muy diferentes. ¿Cómo puede ser esto? ¿Cuál es la ...
10
votes
1answer
142 views
Chorizo como sinónimo de ladrón
¿Por qué en España la palabra "chorizo" es coloquialmente usada para referirse a los ladrones?
9
votes
1answer
210 views
¿Cuál es la etimología de “sin embargo”?
La frase "sin embargo" se traduce como "however" en inglés, pero no la entiendo.
La palabra "sin" significa "without", y la palabra "embargo" significa "ban" o lo mismo que la palabra inglesa ...
9
votes
1answer
720 views
“Desde luego” meaning and etymology
Español
Esta pregunta me recuerda a una frase similar, "desde luego", que no es eso literalmente, sino que significa "por supuesto" (según el DRAE):
luego.
[...]
desde ~.
loc. adv. ...
9
votes
2answers
190 views
What is the history of the “personal a”?
What is the historical origin of the "personal a" in Spanish?
Examples of the personal a:
George sees Mary. -> Jorge ve a María.
I see the waitress. -> Veo a la mesera.
But with the exact ...
8
votes
2answers
3k views
Why is “De nada” used as a response to “Gracias”?
De means "of", and nada means "nothing", so why, when put together are they used in response to "Gracias"?
7
votes
4answers
366 views
How did the words “mataburros” and “tumbaburros” come to mean “dictionary”?
The recent question about irregular plurals led me to a couple of odd and interesting words that apparently mean "dictionary" in at least one sense each:
mataburros
tumbaburros
The connection ...
7
votes
2answers
165 views
Basque words in Spanish vocabulary
Which are the words, parts of words and structures coming from Basque to Spanish language? And possibly in which periods did they become part of spoken Spanish and official Spanish (Castellano)?
7
votes
2answers
200 views
Why is “Usted” grammatically a third person?
In English polite form of address is "You" which is second person singular and plural. In Russian it is "Вы" which is plural second person.
In Spanish (and probably French and Italian) polite address ...
7
votes
2answers
147 views
¿Cuál es el origen de la palabra 'antro'?
Hoy en dia, en México, se dice 'antro' a un club/discoteca o simplemente un bar. ¿De dónde viene la palabra? ¿Cuándo se empezó a usar?
7
votes
1answer
177 views
What's the origin of words ended in letter “j”?
What's the origin/etymology of these words? The only one that I know and it is common is reloj.
Are there any others recognized by the RAE?
7
votes
1answer
304 views
What is the correct order of object pronouns?
I know that there are (at least) three types of personal pronouns in Spanish (well, and English): direct, indirect, and reflexive. In cases where all three (or at least two) are present, what is the ...
7
votes
2answers
343 views
Where does the expression “Oe oe oe oe oe, … oeee, … oeee” come from?
I have heard Spaniards singing
"Oe oe oe oe oe, ... oeee, ... oeee"
in soccer and other sports.
Where does this expression come from? Is it a Spanish expression?
7
votes
1answer
139 views
What is the meaning of the word KOS in the conquestadores stirrup shoe?
Most of the brass Conquistadores Stirrups sold in eBay probably are simple and cheap imitates, even if they have been created as worn out shoes with lots of repairs. I remember the stirrup shoes my ...
7
votes
1answer
422 views
Condescendiente / Condescendant
Oh surprise, Condescendant has a very different meaning in English compared to Spanish.
Condescendant:
Assuming a tone of superiority or a patronizing attitude
Condescendiente:
adj. Que ...
6
votes
2answers
352 views
Why does the preterite of “traducir” transform into “tradujo”?
As you will see below the preterite suffers from an odd transformation. Even native speakers make the mistake of conjugating the preterite of traducir wrong. For instance instead of traduje they ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
The letter “k” in Spanish
The letter "k" is rarely seen in Spanish. What is the origin of Spanish words containing a k? Are most recent loanwords from modern languages, influences from older languages (Latin or Greek), or of ...
6
votes
1answer
138 views
Are “burro” and “aburrir” related?
Is the word aburrir (get bored) etymologically related with the word burro (donkey)?
They seem to share a common root (burr). Plus, there is a spanish saying:
Solo los burros se aburren
6
votes
4answers
8k views
Where did “pico de gallo” get its name?
Does pico de gallo (the type of salsa) literally translate as "rooster's beak"? If so, where did it get that name, and how does that describe the salsa?
6
votes
2answers
230 views
Origin and use of “echar de menos”
I've always found peculiar that the phrase echar de menos is synonymous of the verb extrañar. For example:
Te echaré de menos.
is equivalent to:
Te extrañaré.
Based on TV, its use is most ...
6
votes
1answer
169 views
Etymology of “usted”
What is the etymology of the pronoun "usted"? What formal pronouns existed before, and when did the current "usted" come into existence?
6
votes
2answers
477 views
Why does “bomba” mean so many different things?
The word bomba can translate to English as any of the following, depending on the region:
bomb
pump
spray
major piece of news
bubble
fire truck
fire station
gas station
plus a few more...
That ...
6
votes
1answer
146 views
How are words with “ps” or “pt” pronounced?
Here are a few examples:
psicología
ptosis
Ptolomeo
Interestingly is that "sicología" is also found in the RAE but most of the time I've seen it written as "psicología".
How are they ...
6
votes
2answers
776 views
Origin of the mexican expression “güey/buey”
The common Mexican informal expression "güey/buey" (written as "wey" in text).
Where did it come from?
Since when did it become a common expression?
Examples:
A que güey estás. (You are so ...
6
votes
1answer
198 views
Etimología de la frase popular “Hoy Canta Gardel”
En Chile, es muy frecuente oír el dicho popular "Hoy canta Gardel", aludiendo al singular artista argentino Carlos Gardel. Particularmente se utiliza como forma de mencionar el día de pago o bien ...
6
votes
1answer
245 views
What's the origin of the word “chido”?
What's the origin of the word "chido"?
When did it become popular in Mexico?
Examples:
Qué chido esta tu carro.
Estaría bien chido si ganara la lotería.
RAE:
chido, da.
adj. ...
6
votes
1answer
166 views
What's the origin of the Panamanian word “biñuelo”? Is it merely a corruption of “buñuelo”?
I was in Panama about five years ago and there was a common deep fried street food called "biñuelo".
Of course there's a regular Spanish word "buñuelo" which means fritter.
So is "biñuelo" just the ...
6
votes
1answer
215 views
Significados de Fama
Acabo de ver en Twitter a una persona utilizando la palabra Fama como sinónimo de Carnicería (donde uno compra la carne).
En Colombia está bien decir:
Voy a la fama a comprar churrasco.
Pero ...
6
votes
2answers
246 views
Origin of the name “Jesucristo”
The name Jesus translates simply as Jesús, and Christ as Christo. So why is Jesus Christ translated as Jesucristo rather than Jesús Cristo or Cristo Jesús?
Google gives me a plethora of explanations ...
5
votes
3answers
219 views
¿Cuál es el origen de la frase “al pan, pan, y al vino, vino”?
Creo que la expresión quiere decir que algo fue dicho con claridad, pero ¿de donde viene la expresión? Es decir: ¿a qué se refiere originalmente? ¿Por qué pan y vino, precisamente?
5
votes
3answers
248 views
What's the function of the letter h?
What's the function of the letter h in Spanish? Even though it's not pronounced there must be a reason of its existence.
Update:
What I mean is the case when the letter h it's not accompanied by the ...
5
votes
2answers
138 views
Matutino and Vespertino
I see matutino and vespertino, meaning morning and afternoon, used to describe parts of the daily schedule in schools and church. They sound very formal.
Are there more words like them to describe ...
5
votes
1answer
215 views
Origin of the phrase “la quinta …” to denote an undesirable or faraway place
The Colombian phrase la quinta porra denotes an undesirable or faraway place. For example,
¡Váyase a la quinta porra!
conveys the same meaning as
Go to hell!
The earliest use I could find ...
5
votes
2answers
180 views
Usage of “mueco” vs. “mellado” for “toothless”
The RAE does not have an entry for mueco or mueca, a term commonly used in Colombia to describe a toothless person. However, the expression hacer muecas is understood in the traditional sense as a ...
4
votes
3answers
263 views
Why is sport in Spanish 'deporte' and not 'esporte'?
One would expect that the Spanish word for 'sport' would be esporte (as in special => especial, spaghetti => espagueti, Spain => España, etc.). But it's actually deporte.
Why does it begin with de- ...
4
votes
1answer
94 views
Is fiscalía related to fiscal?
Fiscalía in Spanish refers to a district attorney or public prosecutor. "Fiscal" (in English or Spanish) describes something related to finances. This always confused me because the words are very ...
4
votes
3answers
221 views
Etymological origin of “false friends” between Spanish and English
Is there an etymological origin that can be called the main one that has created the list of "false friends" between Spanish and English?
I'm constantly stumbling upon a new "false friend" when ...
4
votes
3answers
171 views
¿Cuál es el origen del uso de la palabra “codo” como sinónimo de tacaño?
Aquí en México utilizamos la palabra codo como sinónimo de tacaño. ¿Cuál es su origen? ¿qué relación tiene con el codo (parte del cuerpo)?
codo, da.
(De codo).
adj. Ec., El Salv., ...
