Estibar is to load or stow. This would be like loading something for shipping.
We bought some boxes the other day that say, “Estiba maxima 4 cajas” which I assume to mean, “Don’t stack more than 4 high.”

Aparejar is a verb that means to saddle (as in a horse), or to rig up, or prepare something for use. I don’t know if it is a common word or not. I read it in literature and am not sure that I have ever seen it used otherwise.

Prestar is not an uncommon word. We most often see it used when talking about lending something to someone. Along the lines of lending is the idea of rendering service.
The reflexive form of the verb, prestarse, has some other interesting meanings. It can mean “to be open to” as in the phrase: Dar ocasión de […]

The place to park your car is the estacionamiento. It is the noun for a parking lot or a parking space. The verb is reflexive and is estacionarse.
One of the worst “spanglish” words I have heard is parquear meaning to park. I suppose out of all the bad combinations of English and Spanish I have […]

A campamento is a camp (noun). The gerund form of camping is often the same in Spanish, i.e.; ir de camping (to go camping).
There were few posts to this site since we were in a campamento last week.

I have always used the word estirar to mean to stretch. It is used when you are exercising and stretch your muscles. It is also used when you are stretching high to grab something off a shelf.
But a new use of the word came up last night. We were walking into a restaurant and saw […]

I have seen the word abarrotes on many stores. These are typically smaller stores that sell just basic food items. Mostly small neighborhood stores. I thought it meant something like “quick in and out store” but my friend told me the other day she always thought it meant groceries.
I looked up the word and saw […]

Manejar is to manage. I don’t know why I had not seen this before, but this evening I made the connection that the two words manejar and manage have the same root. Literally the word means to handle. We use it to mean to contol both in Spanish and in English.

I had to go to the bicycle store today to get a patch for my tire. I asked the guy for a parche, unsure of the word. He looked at me as if to say “what else would you call it.” I just was not sure if parche was a patch. It is.
That is also […]

Tonight at church the preacher read a verse that contained the word engendrar. I knew it meant to give birth to, to father, or to breed, but I suspected that it had a deeper meaning. It seems to mean the impetus or the starting point of something. Without talking about human or animal reproduction it […]