Spanish words first recorded in the 12th century

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…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *stabiliscere, an inchoative verb formed from stabiliō (“to make firm, steady”) with the suffix -ēscere that gives Spanish verbs in ⟨-ecer⟩. The Academy's…

It continues inherited from Old Spanish escuro, inherited from Latin obscūrus (“dark, gloomy”), with its form brought back towards the Latin in the Golden Age. The medieval form ⟨escuro⟩ runs from…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin agustus, from Latin Augustus, the name of the month given in honour of the emperor Octavian Augustus. The month had earlier been called Sextīlis, the sixth month of…

It is inherited from Late Latin combattuere (“to fight with, fight”), in the popular form *combattere, a compound of com- (“with, together”) and battuō (“to beat”) (see batir). Corominas treats it…

It is inherited from Old Spanish començar, inherited from Vulgar Latin *cominitiare. The Vulgar Latin verb is formed from com- and initiō (“to initiate”), which Christian authors already used for…

It is a deverbal noun from Spanish demandar (“to ask for, claim”). Corominas dates it to a charter of 1194, later than the verb, which the Cantar de mio Cid already uses. The verb continues dēmandō…

It is inherited from Latin vastāre (“to lay waste, devastate”), pronounced *wastare in late Latin under the influence of a West Germanic verb, the source of Old High German wuostan and German wüsten…

It is borrowed from Latin imāgō (“representation, portrait, image”). Frequent at all periods, it soon became a popular word as a religious term. The form omagen in the Libro de Alexandre has a match…

It is formed from Spanish partir + -ida: it is the feminine past participle of the verb used as a noun. partir continues the deponent verb Latin partior (“to share, divide”), from pars (“part”)…

It is inherited from Latin prīvātus (“set apart; private”), the past participle of prīvō (“to deprive, set apart”), which Spanish continues as privar. Corominas sees no decisive reason to regard the…

It is inherited from Old Spanish serpiente, inherited from Latin serpēns (“snake, serpent”). Corominas thinks it was rather a semi-learned word than a fully popular one, since it was always a…

It is borrowed from Latin victōria (“victory”), from victor (“conqueror”). Autoridades already called it “a purely Latin word”. The same Latin word gave Portuguese vitória, Galician vitoria and…

It is inherited from Old Spanish arar, inherited from Latin arō (“to plough”). The same Latin verb is Portuguese arar, Galician arar, Asturian arar, Catalan arar, Occitan arar, Old French arer…

It continues inherited from Old Spanish agro, altered under the influence of the verb agriar. The old form is inherited from Late Latin ācrus (“sharp”), the form the classical Latin ācer (“sharp…

It is inherited from Latin āla (“wing; armpit, shoulder”), unchanged in Old Spanish ala. The same Latin word is Catalan ala, Occitan ala, Italian ala and French aile. In Galician-Portuguese the ⟨l⟩…

It is formed from Spanish alto + -eza. Wiktionary adds that it may correspond to a Late Latin altitia, and García de Diego derives it from that word, which he finds in the Mulomedicina Chironis…

It is borrowed from Old French anciien (“ancient, former”), an early borrowing from French or perhaps Occitan, according to Corominas and the Academy. The French word is derived from the adverb ainz…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *adventūra (“things that are going to happen”), the neuter plural of adventūrus, the future active participle of adveniō (“to arrive, come; to happen”), used as a…

It is inherited from Old Spanish bullir, inherited from Latin bulliō (“to bubble, boil”). The Latin verb is formed from bulla (“bubble”). Wiktionary calls the origin of the noun uncertain: perhaps…

It is inherited from Late Latin zēlōsus (“zealous; jealous”), as the DLE, the REW, García de Diego and Wiktionary give it. The BDELC lists it among the derivatives of celo, a learned borrowing of…

It is borrowed from Latin contrārius (“opposite; hostile”). The variant contrallo goes back to a dissimilated form of the Latin word. The Latin word gave French contraire, Old Occitan contrari and…

It is inherited from Latin cultellus (“small knife”), a diminutive of culter (“knife; ploughshare”), and its Old Spanish form was cuchiello. The same Latin word is Portuguese cutelo (older coitelo)…

It is inherited from Old Spanish de, inherited from Latin dē (“from, down from; about”). In Latin the particle marked origin, moving away and separation, and as a prefix it formed verbs of privation…

It is inherited from Late Latin discarricō (“to unload”), from carricō (“to load”), from carrus (“wagon”). García de Diego finds the Late Latin verb in the glossaries, and Medieval Latin texts use…

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…

It is a semi-learned word, inherited from Late Latin festa, originally the plural of festum (“feast, festival”), the neuter of the adjective festus (“festive”), which is related to feria. Corominas…

It is borrowed from Latin figūra (“shape, form; image; manner”), a learned word in Spanish as in all the Romance languages. The Latin noun is derived from fingō (“to knead, mould, give shape to”)…

It is borrowed from Latin fōrmō (“to shape, fashion”), derived from fōrma (“form, shape; beauty”). Corominas treats the noun forma as a very old semi-learned word, found already in the Glosas…

It is borrowed from Latin grātiōsus (“enjoying favour; obliging”), formed on grātia (“favour, gratitude”) with the suffix -ōsus. Corominas instead lists it among the derivatives of gracia, itself a…

1. The word for the rush is inherited from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”); Old Spanish junco was also written yunco. It is a word in general use at all periods, and common to all the western Romance…

It is inherited from Old Spanish lana, inherited from Latin lāna (“wool”). Corominas notes that it has been in general use at all periods and is common to all the Romance languages. The same Latin…

1. The word for “male” is inherited from Vulgar Latin *masclus, the contracted form of Latin masculus (“male”), itself a diminutive of mās (“male”). Old Spanish had maslo, in Berceo, Alfonso X and…

It is probably borrowed from Old Occitan malvat (“wicked”), from Late Latin malifātius (“ill-fated, unfortunate”). The Latin word is recorded in inscriptions and is formed from malus (“bad”) and…

It is inherited from Old Spanish muro, inherited from Latin mūrus (“wall, city wall”). From the start the Ibero-Romance word was used above all for a city wall, a thick outer wall that defends a…

It is inherited from Old Spanish nerbio, inherited from Vulgar Latin nervium (“sinew, nerve”), a variant of Latin nervus. The older form niervo, with the diphthong of stressed ⟨e⟩, continues the…

It is inherited from Old Spanish passion, borrowed from Latin passiō (“suffering”). The DLE calls the Latin word a calque of Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “experience; suffering; emotion”). The Latin…

1. The word for the fish is inherited from Old Spanish pez, inherited from Latin piscis (“fish”). The same word is Portuguese peixe, Galician peixe, Asturian pexe, Catalan peix, Occitan peis…

It is inherited from Old Spanish polvos, inherited from Vulgar Latin *pulvus (“dust”), a neuter remodelling of pulvis (“dust”), which in classical Latin was usually masculine and more rarely…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *prōmissa (“promise”), recorded in Medieval Latin as promissa, from the plural of prōmissum (“a promise”). That noun was the neuter past participle of prōmittō (“to…

It is inherited from Latin rāna (“frog”). The same word is Portuguese rã, Galician ra, Asturian rana, Old French raine and Italian rana. Old Portuguese had raa and arraa. It was inherited by all the…

It is inherited from Old Spanish saco, inherited from Latin saccus (“sack, bag; coarse garment”). The Latin word was borrowed from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “sack; sackcloth”), which also meant…

It continues inherited from Latin umbra (“shade, shadow”) with an added ⟨s-⟩, which only Spanish and Portuguese have. Corominas thinks the ⟨s-⟩ most likely came from sol and its derivatives, because…

It is formed from Spanish suerte + -ero: the DCECH lists the word and the variant suertero among the derivatives of suerte “lot, fortune”. The DLE derives it from Latin sors “lot; oracle” with the…

It is inherited from Latin tēctum (“roof; dwelling”), the neuter past participle of tegō (“to cover, hide, protect”) used as a noun. Corominas notes that it has been in general use at all periods…

It is inherited from Old Spanish tentar, inherited from Latin temptō (“to touch, feel; to try; to tempt”). The Latin verb was also spelt tentō, the form the DLE gives. Corominas notes that the…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *toccāre, an imitation of the sound of bells and other struck objects, ⟨toc⟩. Corominas considers the onomatopoeia common to all the Romance languages and probably…

It continues inherited from Late Latin torta (“round loaf, cake”), well documented in the Vulgate and other writings of Saint Jerome; the origin of the Latin word is uncertain. The DLE gives it as…

It is a deverbal noun from Spanish trabajar, already old, since it is shared by all the western Romance languages: Portuguese trabalho, Galician traballo, Catalan treball, Occitan trebalh, French…

It is inherited from Latin tractus (“a drawing, dragging; a track; a stretch of space”). The Latin noun is formed from trahō (“to drag, draw”), the source of traer. García de Diego derives the word…

It is inherited from Latin vānus (“empty, hollow; vain”). Corominas notes that the word survives in all the western Romance languages, in several with unmistakably inherited forms, and sees no…