If you are more than a 3rd day student of Spanish, you certainly know that papel is the word for paper. But it also has another meaning that is quite interesting. It means role, as in, to play a role. Someone’s part in a play or set of actions is their papel.
I think of the words tarea and papel together. A person’s role (papel) is to accomplish their task (tarea).
Bateria has been a fascinating word because it means many things and there are several ways to talk about what we call batteries in English.
If you are talking about a car battery you could call it a baterÃa, but more commonly it is called an acumulador in Mexico. A flashlight battery has the name pila (most of the time).
Bateria also means a set of drums or a set of pots for cooking.
Pila can mean a tub or trough (like a feed trough).
Along the lines of a battery is an electronic capacitor. It can be referred to as a condensador.
I would think these words all have other meanings. This does not get into the uses of battery in “assault and battery,” nor in any military sense.
Most often used to mean available. For example, a billboard will often say disponible with a phone number to the side. This simply means that it is available for rent.
The word can also be used to mean that something is ready, though there is another word typically translated as ready…listo.
The idea of being at someone’s disposal is part of the word too. To say that you are available to render services would mean that you are at the disposal of the person giving the orders.
This word means rubber. Goma is used as well. Hule is a word that I associate more with the rubber that is used in cars. This association comes because when I needed some rubber and felt window seals for my car, I was sent to a casa de hule. There are many of them around town and they are specialists in any kind of rubber used in a car. From the little rubber covers for your brake pedal to the rubber that holds your windows in place.
Goma is used commonly to mean a rubber eraser or the rubber on your tennis shoes.
There are many ways to say gift in Spanish.
Each one has its own nuances, but they all can be used to mean a present or gift. In my research, I found other words that I had never heard before, such as: agasajo and legado. It will be interesting to study those words too.
A common way to say accident would be accidente. Another way to say it, with an emphasis on the negative nature of it, is percance. It carries with it the idea of a mishap or misfortune.
The dictionary defines mishap as an unfortunate accident. That very much rings true with the meaning of percance.
I first heard this word (that I am aware of) after an extremely unfortunate accident this last week. The way percance was used though seems much more grave than the way the word mishap is used in English. However it is used, you don’t want to be the subject of a percance.
When I started running for exercise a while back I was surprised at the odd use of the word atletismo (atleta, atlético). As a US American, I have always heard the word used to mean sports in general. But through learning Spanish I have found out that the word specifically is used to mean track and field events in just about every language except US English. British English’s primary use of athletics means track and field.
General sports are referred to as deportes.
