List of Spanish words of Basque/Iberian origin

This is a list of Spanish words which are supposed to be of Basque, Iberian origin, or coming from some other pre-roman language in the Iberian Peninsula. Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from other languages. Some of these words have alternate etymologies and may also appear on a list of Spanish words from a different language.

List

• abarca "sandal" (cf. Basque abarka). Probably from Basque abar "branch" (shoe made of branches). The word was loaned in Mozarabic and even in Arab pargha/bargha and from here to Spanish alpargata (Trask 2008, 74).
• abertzale / aberzale "Basque patriot, Basque nationalist" (cf. Basque abertzale). Recent loanword as it is a Basque neologism from the XIXth century.
• agur "goodbye" (from Basque agur with the same meaning) (DRAE).
• aizcolari (cf. Basque aizkolari). Recent loanword.
• alud "avalanche (of snow)": It is considered by Joan Corominas and the DRAE to be a pre-roman word, "sister" of Basque counterparts, especially Basque lurte "avalanche/ "landslide" (also in Aragonese lurte^[1], which seems related with lur "ground" and maybe elur (variants elhur / edur/ erur") "snow" (cf. Basque elhur-auso "avalanche").
• angula "elver". From Basque angula" (Basque version of Lat. anguilla (DRAE)
• aquelarre "witches' sabbath" (cf. Basque akelarre "goat field", fr. larre "field" and aker "billy goat")
• ardite "money of little value" (fr. Gasc ardit, fr. Basque ardít). Uncertain. A usual explanation is that it is an Gascon adaptation of the name of an English coin farthing / "farthingte" (Monlau, Coromines).
• aro "big metal or wooden ring". Maybe from a pre-roman Indo-European word *aros "circle" / "wheel" (BDELC).
• arroyo "stream" (cf. LL arrugia, a kind of mining system, Pliny Naturalis Historia XXXIII,70)
• artiga. "soil already without wild plants broken to cultivate" (artigar is to break the soil to farm). Pre-roman word according to the DRAE. Coromines has speculated with two possibilities of pre-roman origin: 1) as a Celtic or Indo-European word akin to Welsh aredig ("cultivating") or to Old High German art ("cultivated land"). This comparison was already suggested by Hubschmid who related the term with Indo-European verbs such as Latin arare ("to plough") ^[2]; 2) a word of pre-Celtic and even pre-Basque substratum ^[3]
• ascua "embers" (cf. Basque askuo, askua, fr. hauts "cinder")
• azcona "hand-thrown weapon used in past times" According to the DRAE of unknown origin, suggesting a possible Basque origin.
• balsa "pool". Pre-roman, probably Iberian (BDELC). (In Basque it is a Spanish loanword).
• barda "cover put over the walls of the corrals". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin (also in [Sardinian language]). (BDELC)
• barraca "cabin". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin. Loaned to Spanish from Catalan (the same origin for French baraque).
• barranca/barranco. Unknown alleged pre-roman origin.
• barro "clay, mud". According to the DRAE, pre-roman origin, maybe Celtic (cfr. Gaulish barros "thicket", Mid. Irish broch "litter")
• batúa (modern loanword from Basque)
• becerro "yearling calf" (< OSp bezerro "bull"; cf. Basque bei "cow" + zekor "bullock"). According to Coromines (BDELC, 71) derived from Spanish Latin 'ibex'/'ibicis', probably through *ibicirru.
• berrueco.
• bizarro "galant, spirited" (cf. Basque bizar "beard")
• boina "beret" . Modern (XIXth century) loanword from Basque. For the Basque word Coromines and Pascual (Trask 2008, 146) propose it came from Romance, Old Castilian or Old Aragonese (cf. LL abonnis "cap", related with Sp. "bonete").
• bruces, caer de "headlong, to fall". Uncertain. According to Coromines the original was "de buzos" / "de buces", which may be related with "bozo" (cf. "bozal"), which may come from Lat. bocca (through an hypothetical Romance *bucciu).
• cachorro "puppy" (cf. Basque txakur "whelp")
• calabaza "pumpkin". Pre-roman, probably Iberian according to Corominas, who relates this term with galápago and caparazón.
• calimotxo "a type of punch (drink)". Recent loanword
• cama "bed". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin. Attested in Spanish Latin in the VII c. (BDELC ,101).
• caparazón. "shell". Probably of pre-roman origin. Coromines relates it with galápago ("tortoise") explaining that it comes from a metathesis of "carapazón", quoting the Sp. carapacho "carapace"; and with calabaza "pumpkin" (Catalan carabassa).
• carapacho. See caparazón
• carrasca. "kermes oak". Allegedly from a pre-roman root *karr- (BDELC).
• carpetovetónico. Adj. usually despective "terribly Spanish against any non core Spanish influence". Modern derivation from the name of the pre-roman tribes carpetani and vetones.
• caspa "dandruff". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin.
• cazurro. Unknown alleged pre-roman origin.
• cencerro "cowbell" (cf. Basque zinzerri "animal bell")
• chabola ('cf. Basque txabola< Fr geôle'; DRAE)
• chacolí, type of basque wine. Recent loanword
• chamorro "close-cropped" Unknown alleged pre-roman origin with Basque look.
• chaparro "dwarf oak" (cf. Basque txapar)
• chaparrón. (Probably neither a pre-roman word, nor a Basque loanword, but according to the DRAE it is an onomatopoeia; while Coromines believes that even Basque zaparr is an onomatopoeia).
• chapela, type of basque cap. Recent loanword (The Basque word is of Romance origin from Med. Latin"capella").
• charco "puddle". Of unknown alleged pre-roman origin. As it is first attested in the South, Coromines (BDELC, 171) proposed that it comes from Latin "circus" through a Romance Mozarabic language. So it could be of Latin non pre-roman origin.
• charrán "rogue", "scamp" (cf. Basque txar "bad")
• charro "crude" (cf. Basque txar "bad, faulty")
• chasco. Dubious. Coromines concludes that it is an onomatopoeia.
• chatarra "scrap" (cf. Basque txatar "old iron")
• chiquito
• chirimbolo "circular slice" (cf. Basque txirimbol)
• chirimiri drizzle.
• chistera. Basque txistera(and this one from Latin cistella, "little basket") "fish basket" / "top hat".
• churre "thick grease" (cf. Basque txur "miserly, economical")
• cococha "cod's chin" (Basque "kokotxa")
• colmena. "beehive". Probably pre-roman, maybe related to Celtic kolmos "straw" (BDELC).
• conejo "rabbit" (< Lat cuniculus; probably Celtic origin *'cun-icos' ^[4] cf. Basque untxi "rabbit", from earlier *kuntxi)
• ertzaina, "basque policeman". Recent loanword
• ertzaintza, "basque police". Recent loanword
• farra "party" / "spree". Basque parr (variant farr) "laugh" (BDELC).
• gabarra (cf. Basque kabarra, fr. Latin carabus, fr. Gk kárabos)
• galápago "tortoise". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin. Maybe related with Sp. "caparazón" which probably is a metathesis of "carapazón.
• gamarra (from Basque gamarra) "halter"
• ganzúa (Basque gantzua) "picklock"
• garma "scree, steep mountain slope"
• garrapata "tick" (cf. Basque gapar, kapar "briar")
• garza. "heron". Unknown probably pre-roman origin. It may be connected with Celtic words, but Corominas suspects that may be pre-Celtic.
• gazapo "young rabbit"
• gordo "fat" (gurdus is explained by Quintilian (Institutio Oratoria 1,5,57) as a Hispanic word, used for stolidus "stupid").
• guijarro "pebble" (cf. Basque gisuarri "limestone"). But it is related with guija "little stone" which in Old Spanish (1495) appears as aguija and Corominas suggest that came from Latin "petra aquilea ("acute stone").
• gusano, gusarapo "maggot, caterpillar" . Unknown alleged pre-roman origin (Maybe cf. Basque zizain "worm" < Medieval Basque *zizani)
• ikastola, "Basque language school". Recent loanword
• izquierda "left" (cf. Basque ezker)
• jorguín "sorcerer" (from Basque sorgin "witch")
• laya "spade" (from Basque laia)
• legaña "rheum" (cf. Basque lakaiña "cord, roughness, knob on a tree", formerly "strand")
• lurte "avalanche (Spanish word used in Huesca, taken from Aragonese lurte which comes from Basque lurte).
• madroño "strawberry tree" (DRAE: maybe from pr-roman word *motoroneu < * morotonu)
• manteca "lard". Unknown alleged pre-roman origin. Corminas suggests an Indo-European origin.
• maraña "thicket"
• mochil (from Basque mutil "boy"; diminutive mutxil)
• mochila (from "mochil")
• muérdago
• narria "sledge" (cf. Basque nar, narra "towing, sled")
• nava "marshy valley, plain" (cf. Basque naba)
• órdago "Mus card game expression pronounced when you win" (cf. Basque or dago "there it is")
• páramo "moor" (of Indo-European origin) ^[5]
• parra "vine, trellis". But according to the Occitan form parran Corominas proposes a Gothic origin for the Occitan word and probably for the Spanish word parrar (hence non pre-roman) (BDELC).
• parranda "spree"/ "binge". Probably related with Basque parr "laugh" (BDELC, entry "farra")
• pelotari, "player of Pelota". Recent loanword
• perro "dog" (alleged pre-roman origin, but unknown)
• pestaña "eyelash" (cf. Basque pizta "rheum", piztule "eyelash")
• pitarra, pitaña "rheum" (cf. Basque pitar "rheum")
• pizarra "slate"; problematic. Many attempts to explain as of Basque origin, but as Trask points the related Basque word seems better explained as a foreign loanword in Basque (cf. Basque pizar "fragment"). Alternative attempts (Coromines BDELC 435) point to a reinterpretation of lapitz-arri (Basque lapits "slate" from Latin lapis, plus Basque arri "stone") segmented as "la-pitzarri" according to the Spanish article "la".
• rebeco "ibex".(old variants: rebezo and robezo XV c.). Pre-roman, maybe related, as metathesis, with becerro (BDELC).
• sapo "toad"
• sarna "scabies". Alleged pre-roman origin, usually related to Basque sarra "rust". Late Hispanic Latin (VII th, Saint Isidore Origines 4. 8. 68), but as serna attested in Theodorus Priscianus (Constantinople, IVth a.C). A Celtic explanation is afforded by Trumper ^[6] who, after studying the variants of the word in the Latin medical treatises, proposes a Celtiberian origin from an Indo-European root *STERH-, comparing with Middle Welsh sarn "mess" and sarnaf "to wreck" ^[7].
• sarro "tooth plaque". Coromines (BDELC) considers it to be of pre-roman origin, related with Basque sarra "rust" and Spanish sarna, but DRAE derives it from Latin saburra" "grid" / "sand".
• silo. According to Cormines, probably from Celtic silon "seed". From here to "stock of grain", and then maybe also the Basque word (cf. Basque zilo, zulo "dugout, cave or shelter for keeping grain")
• sima. "chasm". Unknown, alleged pre-roman origin. (Coromines considers to be dubious the comparison with some Indo-European words with meanings as "frontier" or "cord").
• socarrar "to scorch" (cf. Basque (dial. and arch.) sukarr, sukarra "flames, fire", fr. su "fire" and karr, karra "flame"
• soca-tira, "game of Tug of war". Recent loanword
• tarugo "wooden peg". Pre-roman. Probably from an Hispanic Celtic language (*tarucon) and related with Gaulish tarinca "peg" (BDELC).
• toca "headdress". Pre-roman origin from a word *tauca'.
• urraca "magpie" (BDELC p. 564), but Covarrubias derived it from Lat. 'furax' ("thievish") ^[8]
• vega "river-plain", "water meadow". In old documents attested as 'vayca' (Trask 1997, 420). Related with Basque ibai" "river" maybe with the relational suffix -ko (BDELC). According to Trask this explanation is problematic.
• zamarra/chamarra (cf. Basque zamar "fleece")
• zanca "bird leg, slim leg", zanco "stilt" (cf. Basque zango "leg"). The word exists also in Italian and Coromines proposes a non pre-roman origin: from late Latin zanca (a kind of shoe), which perhaps originated in Old Persian zanga "leg" (BDELC, 590).
• zarrio "excessively adorned" (cf. Basque txar "bad, faulty") (or of Arabic origin)
• zarza "bramble" Basque sasi, early Basque (Oihenart) çarzi (=zarzi) (Trask 1997, 421).
• zatico/zatillo "piece of bread" (cf. Basque zati)
• zorra "fox" ; unclear, maybe related to Basque zuhur "prudent" (Trask 1997, 421). According to DRAE from Portuguese zorro "idler".
• zulo "hole" (cf. Basque zulo). Recent loanword
• zurdo "left-handed". Probably a pre-roman word related to the Basque word (Coromines) (cf. Basque zur "stingy, miserly", zurrun "inflexible, hard")
• zurrón "sack" (cf. Basque zorro)

See also

• Linguistic history of Spanish
• List of Spanish words of Celtic origin
• List of English words of Spanish origin

Notes

References

• Corominas, Juan. Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed. Madrid: Editorial Gredos, S.A., 1967. (BDELC)
• Entwistle, William, J. The Spanish language: Together with Portuguese, Catalan and Basque, 1962.
• Gómez de Silva, Guida. Elsevier's Concise Spanish Etymological Dictionary. New York: Elsevier, 1985.
• Llorente Maldonado de Guevara, Antonio "Las Palabras pirenaicas de origen prerromano, de J. Hubschmid, y su importancia para la lingüística peninsular", Archivo de Filología Aragonesa, 8-9, pp. 127–157, 1958.
• Monlau y Roca, Pedro Felipe. "Diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana Madrid, 1856.
• Oroz Arizcuren, Franciso Javier. "Sobre palabras preromanas en escritores latinos" in La Hispania prerromana : actas del VI Coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas prerromanas de la Península Ibérica : (Coimbra, 13-15 de octubre de 1994) coord. 1996, ISBN 84-7481-830-3 , p. 207-216.
• Real Academia Española. Diccionario de la lengua española (22nd edition). Madrid 2001. (DRAE)
• Robert Lawrence Trask. The History of Basque Routledge, 1997. ISBN 978-0415131162.
• Robert Lawrence Trask. Etymological dictionary of Basque" edited for web publication by Max W. Wheeler, University of Sussex 2008.

External links

• List of words of Basque origin in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española.