HOW many words in English came originally from Spanish? Probably many more than we think. With the increase in foreign travel during the latter half of the 20th Century, lots of words entered the language as a direct result of tourism. But the origins of many “borrowings” go back much further, having entered American English from Mexican Spanish and other Latin American countries several hundred years ago.

Most Spanish words in English can be grouped into the following categories: food, animals, people, buildings, drugs, nature, and war.

In this second article, we’re going to look at food. First of all, things we like, but shouldn’t!

Our word chocolate, the same in Spanish but pronounced cho-coh-lah-tay, came originally from the Aztec language Náhuatl word xocolatl meaning bitter water. Guacamole, made from that calorie-filled fruit avocado that we all love to eat, is also from Náhuatl, namely ahuacamolli (avocado paste). Sarsaparilla, the drink of “softies” in Hollywood Westerns, comes from zarzaparilla, a combination of zarza (bramble) and parrilla, a diminutive of parra (vine). Vanilla comes from vainilla, diminutive of vaina (sheath) due to the shape of a vanilla pod, and lime derives from the Spanish lima.

Moving on to more savoury items, potato, tomato, chili, salsa and rusk all have Spanish or Latin American roots. Potato, Spanish patata, derives from the Taino word batata (sweet potato), influenced by the Quechua word papa (white potato). Taino and Quechua are both South American native languages. Tomato is from the Spanish tomate, which in turn came from the Náhuatl word tomatl. Chili also originates from Náhuatl - chilli for a type of pepper. Salsa is the Spanish for sauce and rusk is from the Spanish/Portuguese word rosca meaning coil or rusk, possibly itself derived from the Latin rota (wheel).

Tortilla, an omelette in Spain, but a flat corn bread in Central America, is from the diminutive of torta (cake). Tortilla is also a slang word for lesbian sex! Don’t ask me why!

Next time we’ll look at words that appear in nature. In the meantime, keep practising!

© Don Pablo

Don Pablo is Paul Whitelock, a graduate in Spanish and German, a retired Ofsted school inspector and former UK languages teacher. He now lives with his German wife near Ronda and is a freelance journalist, translator and interpreter. Paul can be contacted by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by telephone on (+34) 952 87 40 38 or (+34) 636 52 75 16. www.a1-solutions-spain.com 

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Spanish in English, Part 2
Saturday, 27 February 2010
HOW many words in English came originally from Spanish? Probably many more than we think. With the increase in foreign travel during the latter...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

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