An English speaker’s perspective

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Desafío

in: Nouns

Desafío is a challenge. I saw desafío this weekend on a girl’s shirt and wondered what it could mean. Now knowing it means a challenge it makes sense that she was wearing that shirt at a 10 kilometer race. The shirt must have been promoting some athletic challenge.

Coraje

in: Nouns

Coraje has two distinct meanings. One is the immediately obvious one, courage or bravery. Apparently this is the original meaning of the word from what I have read. More commonly I hear it used to mean anger or wrath. This is a case of where context would have to guide you in what the word means.

Vegetales, Verduras

in: Nouns

Vegetales and verduras are the things your mother is always telling you to eat, your vegetables.

Seems like I hear verduras used more with cooked vegetables and vegetales with fresh vegetables.

Ayo

in: Nouns

On Wednesday I was teaching Galatians 3:24 which mentions the word ayo. I explained that it meant a tutor. Even the educated people in the group were not familiar with ayo.

Ayo appears in two of my dictionaries but not another one. I don’t think it is a very common word. But, a word I needed to know how to explain.

Relicario

in: Nouns

Apparently the word relicario is not often used, but I did see it on a TV show tonight. The way relicario was used was as a locket. Something that you would store a relic in. The other word that is commonly translated for locket is medallón.

I have a dictionary that is unique in that it seems to be very Mexico specific. The word relicario is not in it at all.

Zarpar

in: Verbs

Zarpar is one of the strangest words I think I have seen or heard used in Spanish. It just sounds funny.

Zarpar means to set sail or to embark.

Lavabo

in: Nouns

We had the sink fall off our wall in the bathroom the other day. When talking to a plumber today I had to remember the word for sink is lavabo. Lavabo is not a word I use regularly.

This seems like a word that can be very different from one country to another. What other words do you know that are used for a sink?