Etymologically
Log in

espagnol

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛs.pa.ɲɔl/[1]
  • IPA: /ɛs.pa.njɔl/[1]

Forms

espagnol (feminine espagnole, masculine plural espagnols, feminine plural espagnoles)[1] Old French espaignol, also espaigneul;[2][1] espagnol from the 15th century.[2][1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Old Occitan espanol, also espainol, used as a proper name in the first half of the 12th century, from a Medieval Latin *Hispāniolus, derived from Latin Hispānia (“Spain”).[3][4] The Robert dictionaries and the GLLF derive it directly from Vulgar Latin.[5][2] Latin Hispānus (“Spanish”), shortened in late Latin to Spanus, had given Old French espan, found in 1080 in the Chanson de Roland.[4][5] It is a doublet of épagneul “spaniel”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval (1181–1191) has cheval espaignol, a Spanish horse.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the adjective had negative values, as in payer à l'espagnole, with blows and boasts (1611); this probably explains parler français comme une vache espagnole, to speak French badly (1640, Oudin), which has also been explained as an alteration of Basque.[4] As a noun it names an inhabitant of Spain and, from the 17th century, the Romance language of most of Spain and Latin America.[4][2] À l'espagnole is recorded by Cotgrave in 1611, and sauce à l'espagnole, a brown sauce, in 1767.[2] Derivatives include espagnolette, a window catch (1731), and espagnolade, once “bragging” (1611), now a conventional picture of Spain.[4]

Timeline

  • 1181–1191 – Cheval espaignol in Chrétien de Troyes.[3]
  • 1611 – Payer à l'espagnole and espagnolade “bragging”.[4]
  • 1640 – Parler français comme une vache espagnole, in Oudin.[4]
  • 17th century – The noun for the language.[2]
  • 1731 – Espagnolette, a window catch.[4]
  • 1767 – Sauce à l'espagnole.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Spanish, of Spain or its people: le peuple espagnol, danses espagnoles.[6][7]
  2. Parler français comme une vache espagnole: to speak very bad French.[6][4]

Noun

  1. Espagnol, Espagnole: a Spaniard.[6][1]
  2. The Spanish language, Castilian.[6][8]
  3. (cooking, feminine) L'espagnole: a brown sauce used as a base for others.[2]

Word family

  • espagnolette
  • espagnolade
  • Espagne
  • épagneul
  • hispanique
  • Latin Hispānia

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)