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carga

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word carga

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1200 La fazienda de Ultra Mar, in a 13th-century copy More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin carrus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin carrus
Spanish carro
Latin carricō
French charger
Spanish cargar
Spanish carga
From the same root
English caricature ← carricō
French charge ← charger
Spanish cargo ← cargar

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkaɾɡa/, [ˈkaɾ.ɣ̞a][1]

Forms

carga f (plural cargas)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from Spanish cargar (“to load”).[1][2][3][4] cargar is carricare, derived from Latin carrus (“wagon, cart”), a Latin word of Celtic origin.[2][3][5] The Latin verb is found in the Visigothic laws and other texts of the Visigothic and Merovingian period meaning “to carry, transport”, and in a Latin inscription from Africa meaning “to load”.[2] Wiktionary traces the Latin noun to Gaulish *karros, from Proto-Celtic *karros and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”).[1]

The corresponding noun is Catalan càrrega.[4] Covarrubias took it from Italian carica, a Tuscan word;[6] the Diccionario de Autoridades replied that a word so old might well be Spanish.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is in La fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), in Jethro's advice on sharing the work of judging: e non avras tu tan grant carga “and you will not have so heavy a burden”.[8] The Fuero de Zorita (1218–c. 1250) uses it of a pack animal that dies por la muy grand carga “from too heavy a load”, and a list of goods of the same period counts .iii. cargas de zeuada “three loads of barley”.[8]

Semantic evolution

Berceo has bestia era de carga “it was a beast of burden” and, figuratively, grand carga de pecado “a great load of sin”.[8][9] Alfonso X's prose uses it for a weight, for goods carried, for a tax and for the duties of an office.[10]

In 1611 Covarrubias added the charge of powder and shot for a gun, dar carga “to press the enemy with musket fire”, and the proverb no mata la carga, sino la sobrecarga “it is not the load that kills but the overload”.[6] The Diccionario de Autoridades added the loading of ships.[7] The Academy recorded a cavalry charge in 1869,[11] and in 1884 the act of loading and a unit for firewood, charcoal and fruit.[12] The DLE now also has the charge of police against rioters, a sports charge, the refill of a pen or battery and electric charge.[13]

In the Americas carga is still a measure: in Cuba eight arrobas, a horse's load;[14] in Colombia ten arrobas, and other amounts in Bolivia and Honduras.[15] In the port of Las Palmas carga blanca was general cargo, recorded from 1901.[16]

Timeline

  • 972 – the DEMel's earliest primary record, cargas in the Fuero de Cirueña.[17]
  • c. 1200 – La fazienda de Ultra Mar, in a 13th-century copy.[8]
  • 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita, of a pack animal's load.[8]
  • 1220–1250 – Berceo, the date Corominas gives.[3][2]
  • 1256–1300 – Alfonso X's legal prose uses it for a tax and the duties of an office.[10]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin uehes for carga de bestia.[18]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias records the charge of a gun and the proverb on the overload.[6]
  • 1869 – the Academy records a cavalry charge.[11]
  • 1884 – the Academy adds “the act of loading”.[12]
  • 1901 – carga blanca at Las Palmas.[16]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of loading: La carga del camión duró una hora.[13][19]
  2. A load, something that weighs on something else.[13][1]
  3. Goods carried on the shoulders, on an animal or in a vehicle; cargo: El barco llevaba una carga de trigo.[13][1]
  4. The load a structure bears.[13]
  5. A refill for a device whose contents run out, such as a pen.[13]
  6. A charge against the enemy; a police charge against those disturbing public order.[13]
  7. (sports) A charge by one player on another.[13]
  8. A tax or levy on a property or condition: cargas fiscales.[13]
  9. A burden, a duty attached to a state, post or office.[13][1]
  10. A unit of measure for forest products such as firewood and charcoal; a measure of grain of three or four fanegas.[13][1]
  11. The charge of explosive in a firearm, mine or blasting hole.[13]
  12. (physics) Electric charge (carga eléctrica).[13][20]

Word family

  • carguero
  • lanzacargas
  • montacargas

Usage notes

Bestia de carga “beast of burden” and a carga cerrada “without examining the goods” are old phrases.[8][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 868
  3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cargar
  4. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954)
  5. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. cargar
  6. ^ a b c d Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 441
  7. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 2, 172
  8. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. carga
  9. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 214
  10. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. carga
  11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 152
  12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 212
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. carga
  14. ^ Pichardo, Esteban (1875), Diccionario provincial casi-razonado de vozes y frases cubanas, 4th ed., La Habana: Imprenta El Trabajo, p. 75
  15. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. carga
  16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. carga
  17. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock
  18. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 311
  19. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. carga
  20. ^ Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. carga
Cite this entry

“Carga.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/carga. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·