What is spanish word for english

The English language is drawn to the Spanish language.

Many English-language words come directly from the Spanish language—and I’m not just talking about the ones you find on the menu at your local Mexican or quasi-Mexican restaurant.

From “canyon” to “alligator,” you’ll be surprised by just how much the Spanish language has influenced English!

Here, we’ll teach you 70 English words of Spanish Origin.

Contents

• US Location Names
• • 1. Arizona
  • 2. California
  • 3. Colorado
  • 4. Florida
  • 5. Montana
  • 6. Nevada
  • 7. Texas
  • 8. Puerto Rico
  • 9. Los Angeles
  • 10. Las Vegas
  • 11. “San” anything
• Places
• • 12. Cafeteria
  • 13. Canyon
  • 14. Corral
  • 15. Mesa
  • 16. Patio
  • 17. Plaza
  • 18. Ranch
  • 19. Savanna
• Food
• • 20. Anchovy
  • 21. Banana
  • 22. Barbecue
  • 23. Burrito
  • 24. Chocolate
  • 25. Churro
  • 26. Cilantro
  • 27. Gordita
  • 28. Jerky
  • 29. Mojito
  • 30. Pimento
  • 31. Piña Colada
  • 32. Potato
  • 33. Tomato
  • 34. Tuna
• Animals35. Alligator
• • 36. Alpaca
  • 37. Armadillo
  • 38. Barracuda
  • 39. Cockroach
  • 40. Condor
  • 41. Coyote
  • 42. Iguana
  • 43. Llama
  • 44. Mosquito
  • 45. Mustang
• People
• • 46. Buckaroo
  • 47. Comrade
  • 48. Renegade
  • 49. Vigilante
• Things
• • 50. Armada
  • 51. Bonanza
  • 52. Bronco
  • 53. Breeze
  • 54. Canoe
  • 55. Cargo
  • 56. Cigar
  • 57. Cojones
  • 58. Embargo
  • 59. Flotilla
  • 60. Guerrilla
  • 61. Hurricane
  • 62. Jade
  • 63. Junta
  • 64. Lasso
  • 65. Macho
  • 66. Platinum
  • 67. Rodeo
  • 68. Stampede
  • 69. Suave
  • 70. Tornado

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US Location Names

1. Arizona

Despite rumors to the contrary, this isn’t Spanish for “arid zone.” Instead, the name Arizona was derived from the Spanish name Arizonac, which was in turn derived from an O’odham phrase meaning “small stream.”

2. California

The name California originated in the 1510 book “Las sergas de Esplandián” (“The Adventures of Esplandián”). In the story, California was a remote kingdom inhabited only by women. The name came from the name of their queen, Calafia. Her name may have come from the Spanish word califa, which came from the Arabic word khalifa, referring to a religious state leader.

3. Colorado

While the state itself derived its name from the Colorado River, the river got its name from the Spanish word colorado , meaning “red.”

4. Florida

Florida in Spanish is an adjective meaning “flowered” or “flowery.”

5. Montana

The name Montana comes from the Spanish word montaña , which means “mountain.”

6. Nevada

Though you’d never guess it from the bright lights and vast deserts in this state, the Spanish adjective nevada  means “snowy” or “snow-covered,” and as a noun it means “snowfall.” It was named for the snow that blankets the mountains in winter.

7. Texas

The name Texas originated from the Spanish word tejas , derived from a Caddo word for “friends.”

8. Puerto Rico

In Spanish, puerto means “port” while rico  means “rich,” so this name literally means “rich port.”

9. Los Angeles

Ever wonder why Los Angeles is called “The City of Angels”? There’s an easy answer: The Spanish phrase los ángeles  means “the angels.”

10. Las Vegas

Las Vegas means “the meadows”—and you’ll be skipping through them if you hit the jackpot!

11. “San” anything

The Spanish word san  means “saint,” so any city that begins with San is just “Saint” something. For instance, San Diego is the Spanish name for Saint Didacus of Alcalá, and San Antonio is the Spanish name for Saint Anthony of Padua.

Places

12. Cafeteria

The word “cafeteria” originated from the Latin American Spanish word cafetería , which meant “coffee shop.” Nowadays, though, the Spanish café  is a more commonly used term for “coffee shop,” and cafetería has come to mean… you guessed it, “cafeteria.”

13. Canyon

“Canyon” came from the Spanish word cañón , meaning “tube,” “pipe” or “gorge.”

14. Corral

This word comes from the Spanish word corral . In both Spanish and English, it refers to a pen or farmyard enclosure.

15. Mesa

In English, a “mesa” is a large plateau, but it originated from the Spanish word mesa , which means “table.”

16. Patio

In both English and the original Spanish, patio  is a type of courtyard.

17. Plaza

In English, this is a public square. The Spanish term plaza  originally meant “place,” but it now can also be used to refer to a public square.

18. Ranch

“Ranch” originated from the Spanish word rancho  which can refer to either a ranch or a communal meal.

19. Savanna

“Savanna” comes from the Spanish word sabana . They share the same meaning.

Food

20. Anchovy

From the Spanish word anchoa . You can blame the Spanish for the name when someone tries to sneak some of these onto your pizza.

21. Banana

Though it’s debated, some believe this word originated from the Spanish word banana , which originated from the Mande word banana. They all refer to the same fruit.

22. Barbecue

“Barbecue” is derived from the Spanish word barbacoa  which may have come from the Arawak language. In Spanish, barbacoa is, in fact, meat that’s slow cooked on an open fire—anybody else craving Chipotle now?

23. Burrito

Now known as a delicious rolled dish in both Spanish and English, the word burrito  originally meant (and can still mean) “little donkey.”

24. Chocolate

The English word “chocolate” originates from chocolate in Spanish, which is derived from the Nahuatl word chocolatl. 

25. Churro

Of course, in both Spanish and English it can be used to refer to the delicious fried dough. But in Spanish, it originally meant “fritter.” Now it’s popular as slang with many different meanings ranging from “a mess” to “disaster” to more vulgar things.

26. Cilantro

You might know that the English word “cilantro” came from the Spanish word cilantro . What you might not have known is that, outside of the US, the same herb is often referred to as “coriander” or “coriander leaves.” Looks like the Spanish name really stuck in the US!

27. Gordita

While it’s sometimes used to refer to a particular type of dish in the US, in Spanish gordita literally means “little fatty” and is used as a term of endearment.

28. Jerky

This is derived from the Spanish word charqui  which was derived from a Quechua word. In Spanish, it can refer to dried meat or fruit.

29. Mojito

In both Spanish and English, mojito refers to the classic drink. However, the word was originally derived from the Spanish word mojado , meaning “wet.”

30. Pimento

“Pimento” comes from the Spanish word pimiento , meaning “pepper.”

31. Piña Colada

Though you may be more familiar with the drink in English-speaking countries, both words in its name are Spanish. Piña is “pineapple,” while colada  means “strained.”

32. Potato

“Potato” comes from the Spanish word patata , which comes from the Taíno word batata.

33. Tomato

“Tomato” comes from the Spanish word tomate  which comes from the Nahuatl word xitomatl.

34. Tuna

While it has older roots in several languages, the English word “tuna” is derived from the Spanish word atún . The exact origins seem fishy.

Animals35. Alligator

“Alligator” comes from the Spanish phrase el lagarto , which means “the lizard.”

36. Alpaca

This word comes from the Spanish word alpaca, which is derived from the Aymara word allpaca.

37. Armadillo

Though it now refers to the animal in both Spanish and English, the original meaning of armadillo was “little armed one.”

38. Barracuda

In both English and Spanish, barracuda  refers to the same fish. It is thought to have been derived from a Cariban language.

39. Cockroach

The word “cockroach” comes from cucaracha , the Spanish word for the same pest.

40. Condor

“Condor” came from the Spanish word, cóndor, which came from Quechua.

41. Coyote

The name of this animal came from the Spanish name for the animal, coyote, which itself came from a Nahuatl word.

42. Iguana

Derived from Spanish, which derived it from Arawak, iguana  has the same spelling and meaning in both Spanish and English.

43. Llama

This word passed from Quechua to Spanish to English. It has the same spelling and meaning in all three languages.

44. Mosquito

Though it now has the same meaning in both Spanish and English, the literal translation was originally “little fly.”

45. Mustang

“Mustang” is thought to have originated from the words mostrenco and mestengo, which both referred to free-roaming cattle but now simply means “unclaimed” or “without owner.”

People

46. Buckaroo

This old-timey term was derived from the word vaquero  which means “cowboy.”

47. Comrade

“Comrade” is thought to come from the Spanish word camarada, which means “companion.”

48. Renegade

The original Spanish word renegado was used to refer to a rebel or turncoat.

49. Vigilante

“Vigilante” comes from the Spanish term with the same spelling. In Spanish, it means “watchman” or “guard.”

Things

50. Armada

The word for this grouping of ships comes from the Spanish term of the same spelling and meaning.

51. Bonanza

You’ll probably shout this out when you strike gold, but in the original Spanish, it simply meant (and still means) “prosperity.”

52. Bronco

In English, we use the term to refer to a bucking horse. But the original Spanish word actually means “rough” or “coarse.”

53. Breeze

“Breeze” likely comes from the Spanish word brisa, which shares the same meaning.

54. Canoe

“Canoe” likely comes from the Spanish word canoa, which shares the same meaning. The Spanish word is believed to have come from another language, though theories tend to vary.

55. Cargo

The English word “cargo” is derived from the Spanish word cargo. They share the same meaning.

56. Cigar

“Cigar” likely comes from the Spanish word cigarro which comes from the adopted Mayan word sikar meaning “to smoke.”

57. Cojones

While used in English to denote courage, the original Spanish word of the same spelling means “testicles.”

58. Embargo

The original Spanish word shares the same spelling and meaning as the English word. Both are used to describe official bans on trade.

59. Flotilla

In both English and Spanish, a “flotilla” is a fleet of ships, though the literal meaning in Spanish is “little fleet.”

60. Guerrilla

In both English and Spanish, “guerrilla” has come to refer to an armed person or group. However, the original Spanish meaning is “little war.”

61. Hurricane

The English word came from the Spanish word huracán  (same meaning), which likely came from an indigenous American language.

62. Jade

The word “jade” is derived from the Spanish term for the same stone, piedra de ijada, which literally means “stone of the flank.”

63. Junta

The English word “junta,” which often refers to a coup d’état, is derived from the Spanish word junta, which can mean “joint” or “committee.”

64. Lasso

“Lasso” comes from the Spanish word lazo meaning “bow,” “knot” or “tie.”

65. Macho

This word shares the same spelling and meaning in both Spanish and English.

66. Platinum

This English word is derived from the Spanish word for the same metal, platino, which literally means “little silver.” The Spanish word platino was originally known as platina from the word plata (silver). 

67. Rodeo

Though in both Spanish and English this word can refer to a cowboy show, the original Spanish word comes from the verb rodear meaning “to go around.”

68. Stampede

“Stampede” comes from the Spanish word estampida. They share the same meaning.

69. Suave

The English word “suave” comes from the Spanish word suave, which means “smooth” or “charming.”

70. Tornado

“Tornado” is derived from two Spanish words: tronada (thunderstorm) and tornar (to turn).

As you can see, there are so many English words of Spanish origin. English and Spanish have both had an influence on each other, with each language adopting words from the other over the course of history.

A great way to become familiar with these words is to consume native media and see how the languages are spoken by native speakers. There are many different ways to immerse yourself in native media, such as watching videos on YouTube, or you could even try a language learning program like FluentU.

FluentU uses authentic videos such as movie clips, music videos and interesting talks to immerse you in the language. Each video comes with interactive subtitles which you can hover over for definitions and more information about the words used.

By seeing how words are used by native speakers, you’ll find it easier to make the connection between the languages!

FluentU is available to access on your browser or by downloading the iOS or Android app.

Now that you know the hidden Spanish origins of these English words, your vocabulary (and your spelling) will thank you!

Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)