Discover Spanish With Us » Nouns

Burro de Arranque

David — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:17:40 +0000

A previous entry at DSWU I talked about a marcha as being the word they use in Mexico as the starter motor for a car. In Argentina the same English word is represented by burro de arranque. However, I have also heard people just call it burro.

Seems that the lowly donkey has many uses in the Spanish language. It comes up in many idiomatic expressions as well as being used to describe other nouns.

Calcomanía

David — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:05:39 +0000

At a friend’s bicycle shop one night he gave me a calcomanía with his name on it. The only way I had heard this term used was to indicate branding of an item by placing a sticker with the seller’s product name on it. However, the word calcomanía can be used for any kind of sticker. It is not just used for branding purposes.

The only person I have heard use this word regularly is my bicycle friend and he is closer to 90 years old than he is to 80. From my reading I have discovered that the word calcomanía is an older word that has been replaced by the word pegatina or sticker in Argentina. Yes, that is sticker as in the English word sticker.

Calcomanía then means a sticker of just about any type, but it is apparently more popular with the older generation than it is with younger people in Argentina.

Capot

David — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:23:50 +0000

Capot is the word used in Argentina for the hood of a car (bonnet). At least, that is what one friend told me. Reading around on the web it appears that in Uruguay this word means the trunk of the car (boot).

I have also seen that capó can be used for hood (bonnet).

In México we used the word cofre to mean the hood.

Cotización

David — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:47:32 +0000

When looking for an estimate or value of something you may see it called a cotización. It can be used to mean a quote or price of an item.

I have heard it used to talk about the amount of value one item has in the currency of another. For example: The value of the scrap metal was $200. This would translate to something like: La cotización de la chatarra llegó a $200.

Conmoción

David — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:14:35 +0000

A physical or emotional shock is called conmoción. This is also the word commotion or concussion in English. To be specific, if you are talking about a concussion of the head, this is called a conmoción cerebral.

A direct translation of the Spanish word into Engish is con meaning with and moción meaning motion. With motion. The word concussion in English means with violent shaking (from the Latin com + quatere).

Indumentaria

David — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:31:44 +0000

While ropa is the common term for clothes or clothing, the word indumentaria is more of a formal term. It is often used when talking about apparel or garments for a specific activity. Not necessarily a uniform, but often uniforms are considered indumentaria.

An example: indumentaria para bomberos would be the special apparel that firemen use in their work.

Oca

David — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 12:22:43 +0000

Oca is a female goose. I met a man the other day whose last name was Montes de Oca. Not knowing what an oca was he tried to explain it to me. In the end a good dictionary came to the rescue. There are times when learning through experience and trying to figure out a word is the best teacher. Then there are times, like this one, where a dictionary is your best friend.

Interestingly his last name, Montes de Oca, is a common place name and family name in several Spanish speaking countries.

Bujía

David — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 02:22:23 +0000

I feel completely in my element when talking to my friends in Spanish. But when I have to go to the hardware store, or auto parts store, I feel pretty ignorant of the language. Bujía is one of those words that makes me feel like I have a long way to go. Bujía is a spark plug.

Reading a couple of dictionaries, it seems like bujía can have something to do with a light bulb. I have not figured out what it could be, or how it is used. I don’t think it is a light in general, but a specific kind.

Cojín

David — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:31:20 +0000

The word cojín commonly is used for a cushion on a chair. A cojín can be a throw pillow, or a removable cushion. It might also mean a permanent cushion, but I have not been able to find reference to that.

There is another use of the word cojín that seems to be less common. It is used for the packaging that trial size shampoo or soap comes in. Like hotel shampoo packets.

Patente

David — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:39:53 +0000

Patente, as an adjective, is patent with the idea of being clear, obvious or evident.

As an adverb it means clearly, or obviously.

As a feminine noun (and the reason I found this word interesting) it is a patent in the sense that we English speakers think about the word when applied to a registered idea or product. It can be used to mean a transportation tax, or a license plate. Any kind of registration (driver’s license or car registration) can also be called a patente. Also a registration fee paid to an association or organization can be a patente.