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parada

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word parada

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
929 a charter in Oelschläger's list More words from the 10th century
Ultimate origin
Latin parō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin parō
Spanish parar
Spanish parada
English pare
From the same root
Latin apparō ← parō
Latin imperō ← parō
Latin parābilis ← parō
Latin parātus ← parō
Latin praeparō ← parō
Latin reparō ← parō
Latin sēparō ← parō

Pronunciation

  • /paˈɾada/, [paˈɾa.ð̞a][1]

Forms

parada f (plural paradas)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish parar + -ada, the feminine past participle of the verb used as a noun.[2][1][3] The verb is from Latin parō (“to prepare, arrange”); in Spanish the sense “to dispose” became “to put in a position”, then “to place”, and “to stop”, a sense that is beginning in Juan Ruiz and normal from Nebrija on.[4] The DCECH relates Catalan parada “weir in a river or canal” and the Andalusian parata “low wall, terrace”, a Mozarabic form.[4]

French borrowed the Spanish noun as the horsemanship term French parade “stopping a horse short” in 1575; the more common French word for “show, display”, which is the source of the English word parade, is a French formation from parer according to the DHLF, whereas Etymonline leaves open French, Italian or Spanish origin.[5][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates the word to a charter of 929.[3][4] The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) has buena parada for a horse's firm halt at the end of a gallop.[7] Alfonso X's General estoria (1272–1275) uses it for a place where one stops.[8]

Semantic evolution

The Diccionario de Autoridades gives the act or place of stopping, the end of a course, a pause in music, a place where cattle gather, and the relay of mules or horses posted along a road.[9] Later Academy editions add the dam on a river that drives mills (parada de molinos), the gathering of the troops that mount the guard, the parade of troops for review (1869), and the stake in a game.[10][11] Alemany (1917) records the fencing parry and the rank for hired coaches, the source of today's parada de taxis.[12] The bus stop and the goalkeeper's save are the main senses today.[13][14]

In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Spanish of the United States parada also means a festive parade, a sense taken from English parade.[15][16][17] In Argentina and Uruguay it is the spot of a street newspaper seller and a regular meeting place, and in the River Plate and Bolivia a showy or arrogant bearing.[18]

Timeline

  • 929 – the first record, in a charter.[3][4]
  • c. 1140 – buena parada of a horse in the Cantar de mio Cid.[7]
  • 1247 – the Fueros de Aragón speak of villanos de parada, peasants bound by agreements with their lords.[19]
  • 1272–1275 – the General estoria uses it for a stopping place.[8]
  • 1515 – the first record from the Americas, from Tierra Firme, for soldiers' positions.[20]
  • 1575 – French borrows it as parade, a term of horsemanship.[5]
  • 1737 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines the stop, the pause and the relay of horses.[9]
  • 1869 – the Academy's dictionary adds the military parade and the stake in a game.[11]
  • 1917 – Alemany records the fencing parry and the coach rank.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A halt, the act of stopping: Hicimos una parada para comer.[13][1]
  2. A place where one stops.[13]
  3. The end of a movement, especially of a run.[13]
  4. A pause, especially in music.[13]
  5. A place where cattle are gathered.[13]
  6. A place where stallions or donkeys cover the mares.[13]
  7. A relay of mules or horses, or a single horse, posted along a route to be changed on a journey; the place where they wait.[13]
  8. A stop for public transport: Bájate en la próxima parada.[13][1]
  9. A taxi rank.[13]
  10. A weir or dam on a river.[13]
  11. (sports) A save by the goalkeeper.[13][1]
  12. (fencing) A parry.[13]
  13. (military) A parade of troops for review or display.[13]
  14. (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, United States) A festive parade or procession.[15][16][17]
  15. (Argentina, Uruguay) The spot of a street newspaper seller; a place where a group regularly meets.[18]

Usage notes

A parada discrecional is a stop where the driver halts only on request.[21] The Academy's dictionary splits the word into two entries, both from parar.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. parada
  3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. parar
  4. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 393
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. s.v. parada
  8. ^ 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. parada
  9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 118
  10. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 637
  11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 573
  12. ^ a b Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1261
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. parada
  14. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. parada
  15. ^ a b Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. parada
  16. ^ a b Academia Dominicana de la Lengua; Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (2024), Diccionario del español dominicano, 2nd ed., online at https://ded.igalex.org, p. s.v. parada
  17. ^ a b Moreno-Fernández, Francisco (2018), Diccionario de anglicismos del español estadounidense (Informes del Observatorio 037-01/2018SP), Cambridge, Mass.: Instituto Cervantes at Harvard University, p. 75
  18. ^ 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. parada
  19. ^ Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. parada
  20. ^ 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. parada
  21. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. parada

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Parada.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/parada. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·