When two people have the same name they are called tocayo. Usage is like this: Uno de los alumnos en la clase es tocayo mio. (One of the students in the class has the same name as I.)

While we have the word docent in English, I don’t know that I have ever heard it used. In English it seems to be used to denote a guide or teacher with a seeming undertone that the person is doing volunteer work.  Docente in Spanish refers to an educator, teacher or private tutor.

Brotar is to blossom, bloom, flourish, break forth. The idea is that of a flower maturing.

Where I heard the word was in a song which was talking about the life God gives “brote en mi corazon.” Just like the words flourish, bloom, blossom, etc. can be used figuratively in English, brotar can be used figuratively as well.

We arrived in Argentina a couple of days ago. Therefore the DSWU website is active again. What new words we are learning!

Peaje can be used to talk about a toll booth or the toll you have to pay when driving on a toll road. In Mexico we used the word cuota which did not seem like an odd word at the time.

Cuota is a fee that you pay for a privilege or a membership.

Peaje seems to be exclusively used for paying a toll on a toll road.

Poco frecuente means to be infrequent. This site is going to be updated poco frecuente over the next couple of weeks.

We are moving out of Mexico for a year. During this time of packing and traveling, it has been hard to stay consistent in writing new words. We appreciate your patience with this, and hope that you still drop by for a visit. The best way to make sure you don’t miss any words is to subscribe to the RSS feed.

We are moving and will be storing our stuff at someone’s house. I mentioned that I needed to get something to lift the items off the floor in case of a hurricane. The man who will be watching our stuff told me I needed tarimas. Of course I was thinking a pallet. Tarima is a good word for pallet, but it also means any type of platform or dais.

While watching the Olympics the announcers talked about the accomplishment of one of the athletes. He used the word hazaña. It means a great or heroic deed, an achievement, a feat.

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 prestarse a críticas. It can also mean to be suitable for a job or ready to perform a task.