300–201 BC

Spanish words from Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

412 Spanish words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 3rd century BC, earliest Latin record first (page 4).

ayudar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin adiuto

It is inherited from Latin adiūtō (“to help”), the frequentative of adiuvō, itself formed from iuvō (“to help”); Old Spanish ayudar has the same form from the Cid on. The same Latin verb is…
barba
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin barba

It is inherited from Latin barba (“beard”). Old Spanish barba has the same form in the earliest texts. The same Latin word is Portuguese barba, Galician barba and Catalan barba, as well as Occitan…
batir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin battuo

It is inherited from Latin battuere (“to beat, pound”), in its popular form battere. Old Spanish had both the etymological infinitive bater and the form batir, which Berceo already uses several…
bien
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bene

It is inherited from Old Spanish bien, inherited from Latin bene (“well”), the adverb of bonus (“good”). The Latin adverb continues an older ablative *duenēd, from duenos, and goes back to…
boca
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bucca

It continues inherited from Old Spanish boca, inherited from Latin bucca (“cheek; mouth”). The original sense “cheek” survives on the edges of the Romance area: Romanian bucă still means “cheek”, as…
bondad
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bonitas

It is inherited from Old Spanish bondat, inherited from Latin bonitās (“goodness”). The Latin noun is formed bonus (“good”) + -tās. The DCECH treats the word under bueno and dates it from Berceo…
bravo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin barbarus

It is inherited from Old Spanish bravo, an adjective shared with Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan and Italian whose origin is uncertain; Corominas considers it most probably inherited from Latin…
brazo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin bracchium

It is inherited from Old Spanish braço, inherited from Latin bracchium (“forearm; arm”). Latin also wrote brachium. Latin took the word from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “arm”). The same Latin…
cadena
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin catena

It is inherited from Latin catēna (“chain”); Old Spanish cadena is recorded from the early 13th century. The same word is Portuguese cadeia, Galician cadea, Asturian cadia, Catalan cadena, Old…
canal
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin canalis

It is inherited from Old Spanish canal, inherited from Latin canālis (“pipe, conduit, channel”). In Latin the noun is formed from Latin canna (“reed, cane”) + -ālis, so the word is related to caña…
carbón
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin carbo

It is inherited from Old Spanish carvón, inherited from Latin carbō (“a piece of charcoal”), continuing the Latin oblique stem in -ōn-. The same Latin word is Portuguese carvão, Galician carbón…
ciego
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin caecus

It is inherited from Old Spanish ciego, inherited from Latin caecus (“blind; dark, hidden”). The same Latin word is Portuguese cego, Galician cego, Catalan cec, Old Occitan cec, Old French cieu and…
ciento
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin centum

It is inherited from Latin centum (“hundred”). Old Spanish ciento had the same form, beside a shortened cient. The proclitic cien is the shortened form used before nouns. The same Latin word is…
cierto
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin certus

It is inherited from Old Spanish cierto, inherited from Latin certus (“decided, settled; certain”), originally a past participle of cernō (“to sift, distinguish, decide”). Old Spanish also had…
ciervo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cervus

It is inherited from Old Spanish ciervo, inherited from Latin cervus (“stag, deer”); the feminine cierva continues cerva (“hind”). The same Latin word is Portuguese cervo, Galician cervo, Asturian…
ciudad
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin civitas

It is inherited from Old Spanish cibdad, inherited from Latin cīvitās (“the body of citizens; citizenship”), a derivative of cīvis (“citizen”) with -tās. The sense “city” appears only rarely in…
clavo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin clavus

It is inherited from Old Spanish clavo, inherited from Latin clāvus (“nail, peg”). The word kept the Latin initial cluster /kl/, a conservative outcome that Corominas compares with claro, flor…
coger
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin colligo

It is inherited from Latin colligō (“to gather together, collect”). The Latin verb is formed from con- (“together”) and legō (“to gather, pick; to read”). The same word is Portuguese colher…
color
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin color

It is inherited from Old Spanish color, inherited from Latin color (“colour”). The same Latin word is Portuguese cor (older coor), Galician cor, Asturian color, Catalan color, Occitan color, French…
comprender
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin comprehendo

It is inherited from Latin comprehendō (“to seize; to take in; to grasp mentally”), in its contracted form comprendō. The DLE derives it from the older Spanish form comprehender. Corominas treats it…
concebir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin concipio

It is inherited from Latin concipiō (“to take in, absorb; to conceive”); Old Spanish concebir has the same form. That verb was formed from Latin con- + capiō (“to take”). De Vaan traces the simple…
contar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin computo

It is inherited from Latin computō (“to calculate, reckon”), formed on putō (“to reckon”) with the prefix com-. The sense “to tell, narrate”, properly “to recount”, is as old in Spanish as “to…
contener
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin contineo

It is inherited from Latin contineō (“to hold together; to contain”), which Corominas records first in the Fuero Juzgo of 1240. Vox calls it a popular word, from the sense “to keep together”, which…
convenir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin convenio

It is inherited from Latin conveniō (“to come together, meet; to agree; to be fitting”). The Latin verb is formed con- (“together”) and veniō (“to come”), the source of venir; Wiktionary gives it as…
cortina
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cortina

It is inherited from Old Spanish cortina, inherited from Late Latin cortīna (“curtain”). The Late Latin noun, used by Saint Ambrose, Saint Isidore and other church writers, is a derivative of Vulgar…
costar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin consto

It is inherited from Old Spanish costar, inherited from Latin constō (“to stand firm; to consist of; to cost”). A Latin document of 1099 already has the spelling ⟨custare⟩. The Latin verb meant “to…
cuarto
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin quartus

It is inherited from Latin quartus (“fourth”), the ordinal of quattuor (“four”). The Old Spanish spelling was quarto. Corominas explains the noun “room” through the use of cuatro for a small, vague…
cuatro
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin quattuor

It is inherited from Latin quattŭor (“four”), through Old Spanish quatro. The DCECH notes that the only correct Latin form had ⟨tt⟩. Gómez de Silva gives the Vulgar Latin forms quatro and quattor…
cubrir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin cooperio

It is inherited from Old Spanish cobrir, inherited from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”). The irregular participle cubierto continues coopertus. Covarrubias already explained it as a…
cuero
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin corium

It is inherited from Latin corium (“skin of a man or an animal, hide”). The same word is Portuguese couro, Galician coiro, Catalan cuir, French cuir and Italian cuoio. Old Portuguese and Galician…
cuervo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin corvus

It is inherited from Latin corvus (“raven”), and the Old Spanish word had the same form, often written ⟨cueruo⟩. The stressed vowel of the Latin word, a short o, appears as the diphthong ⟨ue⟩ in…
cuesta
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin costa

The word is inherited from Latin costa (“rib; side”), which in Romance came to mean the side of a mountain and then sloping ground. The plural cuestas meant “back” in Old Spanish, a direct…
cumplir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin compleo

It is inherited from Latin compleō (“to fill, complete”); the Old Spanish forms were cumplir and complir. Wiktionary sets up a Vulgar Latin *complīre, with a change of conjugation to the ⟨-ir⟩…
cárcel
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin carcer

It is inherited from Latin carcer (“prison, jail”); Old Spanish cárcere, recorded in the 10th century, had taken its present form by the time of the Cid. The final /l/ arose by dissimilation of the…
deber
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin debeo

It is inherited from Latin dēbeō (“to owe, be under an obligation”) (infinitive ⟨dēbēre⟩); it is spelt Old Spanish dever in the oldest texts. The noun meaning “duty” is the infinitive used as a…
demostrar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin demonstro

It is inherited from Latin dēmōnstrō (“to point out, indicate, describe”). Corominas notes that the verb sometimes has a semi-learned look, as in Nebrija's spelling demonstrar. It is formed from…
doce
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin duodecim

It is inherited from Old Spanish doze, inherited from Latin duodecim (“twelve”). Cunha and Gómez de Silva give Vulgar Latin dodece as the intermediate form, and Old Spanish also had dodze. Corominas…
don
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin donum

1. The word for the gift is inherited from Latin dōnum (“gift, present”), as the DLE, the BDELC, García de Diego and Wiktionary give it. Corominas, in the DCECH, sees the word rather as a noun from…
dudar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin dubito

It is inherited from Old Spanish dubdar, inherited from Latin dubitō (“to waver, to doubt”), taken over at an early date. The Latin verb comes from dubius (“wavering, doubtful”), itself from duo…
dulce
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin dulcis

It is inherited from Latin dulcis (“sweet”). The same Latin word is Portuguese doce, Galician doce, Catalan dolç, Occitan dous, French doux, Italian dolce and Romanian dulce. The ⟨u⟩ of the Spanish…
durar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin duro

It is inherited from Latin dūrāre (“to last; to harden; to be patient, persevere”). Latinists disagree whether the sense “to last” and the sense “to harden” belonged to one verb from the start…
duro
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin durus

It is inherited from Latin dūrus (“hard”). Old Spanish had the same form, duro. The same word is Portuguese duro, Galician duro, Catalan dur, Occitan dur, French dur, Italian duro, Sardinian duru…
emperador
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin imperator

It is inherited from Old Spanish emperador, inherited from Latin imperātor (“one who commands; general; emperor”), in a semi-learned form. The REW explains why the word was not fully popular: the…
enemigo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin inimicus

It is inherited from Old Spanish enemigo, inherited from Latin inimīcus (“unfriendly; personal enemy”). The Latin word is the privative of amīcus (“friend”), formed with in- (“not”), and the latter…
entrar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin intro

It is inherited from Old Spanish entrar, inherited from Latin intrāre (“to enter”). The Glosas Silenses still have the Latin-looking spelling ⟨intrato⟩. The Latin verb is formed from intrā…
envidar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin invito

It is inherited from Latin invītō (“to entertain, invite; to challenge”), the hereditary doublet of the learned invitar. Meyer-Lübke notes that the Romance outcomes of the Latin verb mean “to…
esconder
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin abscondo

It is inherited from Latin abscondō (“to hide, conceal”), first as inherited from Old Spanish asconder; the prefix ⟨a-⟩ was later replaced by ⟨es-⟩. García de Diego and Gómez de Silva put the change…
espacio
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin spatium

It is inherited from Latin spatium (“racecourse; extent, space”), which Corominas calls a semi-learned descendant. Wiktionary and García de Diego treat it as a learned word taken from Latin. The…
esperar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin spero

It is inherited from Old Spanish esperar, inherited from Latin spērō (“to hope”). The Glosas Silenses already have the Latin-looking subjunctive speret. The same verb is Portuguese esperar, Galician…
estado
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin status

It is inherited from Latin status (“way of standing; position, condition”), through Old Spanish estado. Corominas treats it in the article on estar, whose past participle has the same form: the verb…
estrella
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin stella

It is inherited from Old Spanish estrella, inherited from Latin stēlla (“star”). Wiktionary suggests that it went through a regional Latin *strēlla. The same Latin word is Portuguese estrela…
excusar
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin excuso

It continues inherited from Latin excūsō (“to excuse, free from blame”); the Old Spanish form escusar is recorded in a charter of 1076. Wiktionary calls the modern form a semi-learned alteration of…
extender
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin extendo

It is inherited from Old Spanish estender, inherited from Latin extendō (“to stretch out, spread”), formed ex- (“out”) + tendō (“to stretch”). Old Spanish wrote it with ⟨s⟩, as Berceo and Nebrija…
fe
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin fides

It is inherited from Latin fidēs (“faith, trust; credit; a promise, pledged word”). The Latin accusative fidem gave first fee and then fe, as pedem gave pie and videt gave ve. The older form is…
fondo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin fundus

It is inherited from Old Spanish fondo, inherited from Latin fundus (“bottom; landed estate”). In the Middle Ages the noun was much less used than its derivative hondón; when it came back into…
frío
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin frigidus

It is inherited from Old Spanish frio, inherited from Latin frīgidus (“cold”). Old Spanish also had frido, the form of a Cardeña charter of 931 and of Berceo's rhymes, which survives in the ballad…
gallina
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin gallina

It is inherited from Latin gallīna (“hen”), the feminine of gallus (“cock”), formed with the suffix -īna. The masculine gave gallo. The same Latin word is Portuguese galinha, Catalan gallina…
gallo
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin gallus

It is inherited from Latin gallus (“rooster”). The hen, gallina, continues the Latin feminine gallīna, recorded in Spanish in a charter of 1050. The same Latin word is Portuguese galo, Galician…
gola
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin gula

It is inherited from Old Spanish gola, inherited from Latin gula (“throat, gullet”). Corominas, however, finds the word foreign to Castilian and of several origins: its early sense “gluttony” and…
grande
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin grandis

It is inherited from Latin grandis (“full-grown, large”); the Old Spanish form was already grande. The Latin word meant “grandiose” and “advanced in age”, and was more at home in spoken Latin than…

All Spanish words inherited from Latin, by century →