Spanish words from English
8 Spanish words with English in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
celo
1. The word for zeal is borrowed from Latin zēlus (“zeal, emulation; jealousy”), which is from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “emulation, rivalry; zeal”). Corominas and Vox treat it as a learned…
concreto
It is borrowed from Latin concrētus (“thick, condensed, compact”), the past participle of concrēscō (“to grow together; to thicken, harden”). Corominas treats it under crecer, since the Latin verb…
julio
1. The word for July is borrowed from Latin Iūlius (“July; of the Julian family”), the name given to the month in honour of Julius Caesar. Corominas and the BDELC treat it as taken from Latin, a…
mango
1. The word for the handle is inherited from Old Spanish mango, inherited from Vulgar Latin *manĭcus, a derivative of manus (“hand”). Corominas explains the Vulgar Latin word as a Romance derivative…
organismo
It is borrowed from English organism, which Corominas dates in English to 1664. The English word is formed from organ, from Latin organum, with the suffix -ism. Corominas treats it under órgano…
rol
1. The word for a part or function is borrowed from English role (“part played by an actor”), which is from French rôle. The Puerto Rican Tesoro also lists it as an adapted anglicism, while the DTME…
ron
It is borrowed from English rum. Corominas thinks that it probably came through French rhum, pronounced /rom/, which is found from 1688 with reference to English America. The English word is…
sonar
1. The word for “to sound” is inherited from Latin sono (“to sound”); the Old Spanish form was already sonar. It is common to all the Romance languages: Portuguese soar, Galician soar, Catalan…