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escuadra

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word escuadra

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1430 an account by Diego de Ribera, spelt esquadras More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin quadrus

Pronunciation

  • /esˈkwadɾa/, [esˈkwa.ð̞ɾa][1]

Forms

escuadra f (plural escuadras)[1] Texts of the 15th to the 17th century often spell it esquadra.[2][3]

Etymology

The DLE derives it from Spanish escuadrar (“to square”).[4][5][6] Corominas, who dates both words to Alfonso de Palencia in 1459, calls them derivatives shared with Italian squadra and squadrare, Catalan escaire and escairar, Occitan escairar and Portuguese esquadrar.[7] Jaume Roig still wrote esquadra in 1460.[7] Given the dates he finds an Italian origin difficult, though not impossible.[7] The Academy's dictionary of 1884 split the word, deriving the instrument from cuadrar with the Latin prefix ⟨ex-⟩, and the body of soldiers from the Italian word.[8] Bénaben derives the word from a Vulgar Latin noun *exquadra and notes that the Italian word meant both the set square and a battalion drawn up in a square.[9]

The verb continues *exquadrare, formed from ex- and Latin quadrō (“to make square”), which comes from quadrus (“square”) and ultimately from quattuor (“four”).[5][10][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's earliest dated hits are military: in Diego de Ribera's account of 1430 two esquadras wait in an ambush, and the Marqués de Santillana's El sueño (c. 1430) has the planets fighting por esquadras bien regladas “in well-ordered squadrons”.[2] Corominas's first record is Alfonso de Palencia, 1459.[7][11]

Semantic evolution

About 1495 Nebrija has both the body of men (escuadra de gente, a square formation) and the drawing instrument (escuadra cartabón).[12] Covarrubias in 1611 describes the iron square of the stonemason and the wooden one of the carpenter, a number of soldiers under a leader, and esquadra de galeras, a naval term.[3] Terreros defines a squadron of warships commanded by a flag officer, and the Academy's dictionaries of the 19th century give it as a part of a fleet.[13][14] Today the DLE defines it as a large group of warships brought together for tactical operations, and in football as the angle between the posts and the crossbar of the goal.[4]

In Mexico and Central America it is a popular word for a pistol, after the angular shape of the automatic pistol.[15][16]

Timeline

  • 1430 – Diego de Ribera's account has two esquadras in an ambush.[2]
  • c. 1430 – the Marqués de Santillana's El sueño has esquadras of fighters.[2]
  • 1459 – Corominas's first record, in Alfonso de Palencia.[7][11]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija has the squadron and the drawing instrument.[12]
  • end of the 15th century – first record of escuadrón, apparently from Italian squadrone.[7]
  • 1579 – first record from the Americas, in Havana: timber worked a esquadra.[17]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias has the instrument, the soldiers and esquadra de galeras.[3]
  • 1786–1793 – Terreros defines the naval squadron.[13]
  • 1884 – the Academy derives the instrument from cuadrar and the soldiers from Italian squadra.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Spain) A set square in the shape of an isosceles right triangle, used in technical drawing: Traza la perpendicular con la escuadra.[4][1]
  2. (Latin America) A set square in the shape of an isosceles or a scalene right triangle.[4]
  3. An angle iron: a metal piece with two arms at a right angle, used to secure the joints of timbers or to hold a shelf.[4][1]
  4. A right angle: Las dos paredes forman escuadra.[4]
  5. The squared section of a timber that is to be worked; escuadría.[4]
  6. A gang or group formed from a crowd of people.[4]
  7. (sports) The top corner of the goal, where the post meets the crossbar.[4][18]
  8. (military) A squadron or fleet: a large group of warships brought together for tactical operations.[4][1]
  9. (military) A squad: the smallest unit of an army, a few soldiers under a corporal.[4][1]
  10. (military) The post of corporal of such a squad.[4]
  11. (Mexico, Central America; colloquial) A pistol.[15]

Word family

  • escuadrilla

Usage notes

A escuadra or en escuadra means “at a right angle”, and falsa escuadra is a bevel square, two rules turning on a pivot.[4][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. escuadra
  3. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 798
  4. ^ 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. escuadra
  5. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 2586
  6. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. escuadra
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 255
  8. ^ 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. 452
  9. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. escuadra
  10. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 275
  11. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cuadro
  12. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. escuadra
  13. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 2, 86
  14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 314
  15. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. escuadra
  16. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1942), Diccionario general de americanismos, 3 vols., México: Pedro Robredo, p. 620
  17. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. escuadra
  18. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. escuadra
Cite this entry

“Escuadra.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/escuadra. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·