Spanish words from Taíno
6 Spanish words with Taíno in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
barbacoa
It is a word of the Caribbean, probably borrowed from Taíno barbacoa (“framework of sticks”). Corominas says only that it comes from an indigenous language of the Caribbean area, and Moliner and the…
canoa
It is borrowed from Taíno *kanowa. Corominas takes it from the Arawakan speech of the Lucayas, the Bahamas. Bénaben also calls it an Arawakan word of the Bahamas. Friederici, followed by Corominas…
cayo
It is borrowed from Taíno cayo (“small island”), from the Arawakan speech of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Corominas notes that the exact native form is unknown: it may have been cay, the…
huracán
It is borrowed from Taíno *hurakā (“hurricane”), a word of the Taíno of Hispaniola. Fernández de Oviedo states that it was a word of the Indians of Haiti, and Pedro Mártir de Anglería and Las Casas…
maíz
It is borrowed from Taíno mahís, the name the Taíno of Hispaniola gave the plant. Las Casas states plainly that it is a word of Hispaniola. Wiktionary reconstructs the Taíno form as *mahisi. The…
tabaco
The plant and the habit of smoking it come from the Americas, but the origin of the name is disputed. Corominas, followed by the DLE, holds that it is borrowed from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq), the name…