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.

Basque

abarca "sandal" (cf. Basque abarka < abar "branch", because they were originally made of branches).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 19th century.
agur "goodbye" (from Basque agur with the same meaning) (DRAE).
aizcolari (cf. Basque aizkolari). Recent loanword.
alud "avalanche (of snow)", from Basque elurte or uholde, olde "flood; avalanche" (Joan Corominas; DRAE); elurte is a blend of elur "snow" and lurte "landslide"^[1] (see lurte below).
angula "elver", from Basque angula, from Lat anguilla "eel" (DRAE)
aquelarre "witches' sabbath" (cf. Basque akelarre "goat field", fr. larre "field" and aker "billy goat")
ardite "money of little value", fr. Basque dial. (Zuberoa) ardít "farthing", fr. Gascon (h)ardit, fr. English farthing (Monlau, Coromines).
ascua "embers" (cf. Basque askuo, askua, fr. hauts "cinder")
azcona "dart" (cf. Basque azkon "dart, javelin") (DRAE)
barranco "ravine, deep gorge" (also Catalan barranc "cavity carved into rock by flowing water", Gascon/Occitan barenc "chasm"), from Basque barneko, barrenko "deep down, deep inside", from barren, barne "bottom, inside (noun)", superlatives of barru "inside, interior" (adj.).
batúa (modern loanword from Basque)
becerro "yearling calf", fr OSp bezerro "bullock" (cf. Basque bet- "cow" (combining form of behi) + -irru). Alternatively, Coromines (BDELC, 71) has OSp bezerro from *ibicirru, fr ibex, ibicis "mountain goat", although this is semantically and phonetically dubious (compare rebeco below).
bizarro "galant, spirited" (cf. Basque bizar "beard")
boina "beret" . Modern (19th century) loanword from Basque. For the Basque word Coromines and Pascual (Trask 2008, 146) propose it came from Romance, from LL abonnis, obbonis "bandana, cap", supposedly from Gothic *obbundi, compound of *obe "above" and *bundi (cf. Old Saxon gibund "bundle").
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" (metathesis of *chacorro < Basque txakur "whelp"); also Southern Corsican ghjacaru ‘dog’, Sardinian giagaru ‘dog, hound’. Ousted now dialectal (rural Huesca) cadillo 'puppy', but in standard Spanish only having the sense of "bur-parsley".
calimotxo "a type of punch (drink)". Recent loanword
carrasca "kermes oak" (also Gascon charrascle, charruscle "thunderclap", charrasclino "rattle"), from Basque karraska "thunder, crash of falling tree" (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.
cencerro "cowbell" (cf. Basque zintzarri, zintzerri "cowbell, sheep bell")
chabola "jail" (cf. Basque txabola < Occitan gabiòla; DRAE)
chacolí, type of basque wine. Recent loanword
chamorro "close-cropped" (cf. Basque txamorro "grub, subterranean bug or worm" or samur, xamur "tender, delicate")
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).
charro "crude", charrán "rogue, scamp" (cf. Basque txar "bad, faulty"; also Gascon charre "ignorant, naughty")
chasco "trick, prank, deception". Dubious. Coromines concludes that it is an onomatopoeia.
chatarra "scrap iron" (cf. Basque txatarra "the old one")
chirimbolo "circular slice" (cf. Basque txirimbol)
chirimiri "drizzle", from Basque zirimiri.
chistera, from Basque txistera, from Latin cistella "little basket, fish basket".
chorro "jet, stream, gushing" (also Portuguese jorro, Old Gascon chourre "fountain"), from Basque txurru "torrent, waterway"
churre "thick grease" (cf. Basque txur "miserly, economical")
cococha "cod's chin" (Basque kokotxa)
conejo "rabbit", from Lat cuniculus, from Proto-Basque *(H)unči (modern untxi); alternatively, from Hispano-Celtic *cun-icos^[2]
ertzaina, "basque policeman", ertzaintza, "basque police". Recent loanwords.
farra "loud party" (also Catalan parranda) (cf. Basque farra, farre ~ parra, parre "laugh") (BDELC).
gabarra (cf. Basque kabarra, fr. Latin carabus, fr. Gk kárabos)
gamarra "halter" (from Basque gamarra)
ganzúa "lockpick" (Basque gantzua)
garrapata "tick" (cf. Basque gapar, kapar "furze, gorse"); also Gascon gaparra "furze/gorse grove", Catalan paparra "tick, lice; licebane, stavesacre (plant)", Portuguese carrapato "tick"
guijarro "pebble" (perhaps Basque gisuarri "limestone"). Or rather a tautological compound made of Sp guija "pebble, small stone" + Basque arri "pebble, stone", from Old Spanish (1495) aguija, from Latin (petra) aquīlea, fem. of aquileus, also seen in aguijada "goad" < *aquīleāta) (Corominas, DLAE).
ikastola, "Basque language school". Recent loanword
izquierdo, -a "left" (cf. Basque ezkerda "the left (one, side)", fr ezker "left"; also Portuguese esquerdo, Catalan esquerre). Ousted Old Spanish siniestro (also Old Portuguese sẽestro), from Latin sinister.
jorguín "sorcerer" (from Basque sorgin "witch")
laya "spade" (from Basque laia)
legaña "bleariness in eyes, bloodshot", fr OSp lagaña (cf. Basque lakaiña "cord, roughness, knob on a tree", formerly "strand")
lurte "avalanche" (Huesca dialect, from Aragonese lurte, from Basque lurte "landslide", from lur "earth").
madroño "strawberry tree" (also Aragonese martuel, Catalan maduixa), from Basque mart-, as in martotx "bramble", martsuka ~ martuts ~ martuza "blackberry". For similar development, compare Galician amorogo, Portuguese morango "strawberry", both from amora "blackberry; bramble". Ousted dialectal (a)borto, from OSp alborço, from Lat arbuteus
mochil, -a (from Basque mutxil, diminutive of mutil "boy")
mogote "isolated mound" (cf. Basque mokor "mound", moko "beak, point")
moño "bun, topknot", muñón "stump", muñeca "wrist", all from *mūnn- "lump, bump" (cf. Basqe mun, munho "hill; breast")
morena "stack of harvested grain" (cf. Basque muru "heap")
muérdago "mistletoe", fr. OSp mordago (10th century), from *muir-tako (Coromines) (cf. Basque miur(a) "mistletoe", mihuri "seed, kernel"). Inherited visco only has the meaning "birdlime".
narria "sledge" (cf. Basque nar, narra "towing, sled")
nava "marshy valley, treeless plain" (cf. Basque naba)
órdago "Mus card game expression pronounced when you win" (cf. Basque or dago "there it is")
pelotari, "player of Pelota". Recent loanword
pestaña "eyelash" (also Pg pestana, Cat pestanya), from *pistanna, from Proto-Basque *pist- (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"), and misdivided as "la-pitzarri" according to the Spanish article la.
sapo "toad" (also Gascon sapou, Aragonese zapo, Asturian sapu; cf. Basque zapo, apo). Rivals inherited escuerzo, from Lat scorteus "rough surface".
sarna "scabies", from Medieval Latin (7th century, Isidore of Seville, Origines, 4.8.68), but as serna attested in Theodorus Priscianus (Constantinople, 4th century). Trumper,^[3] however, after studying the variants of the word in the Latin medical treatises, proposes a Hispano-Celtic origin; cf. Middle Welsh sarn "mess" and sarnaf "to wreck".^[4]
sarro "tooth plaque" (cf. Basque sarra "rust") (Coromines, BDELC); however, DRAE derives it from Latin saburra "grit, sand", despite the fact this word actually gave sorra.
silo "underground cave, granary pit" (cf. Basque zilo, zulo "hole" < Proto-Basque *süɫɦo); or, less likely, from Hispano-Celtic *silon "seed" (Coromines).
socarrar "to scorch" (cf. Basque dial. and arch. sukarr(a) "flames, fire", fr. su "fire" and karr(a) "flame"
soca-tira, "tug-of-war". Recent loanword, from Basque soka "rope" + Fr tirer "to pull".
toca "headdress", perhaps from *tauca.
vega "river-plain; water meadow", from OSp vayca (Trask 1997, 420), from Basque (i)bai "river" + relational suffix -ko (BDELC).
zamarra/chamarra "sheepskin jacket" (cf. Basque zamar "fleece")
zanca "bird leg, slim leg", zanco "stilt" (cf. Basque zanko, zango "leg"). Despite similarity with Italian zanca, the latter is from Lombardic zanka "tong" (cf. German Zange, English tong).
zarrio "gaudy, garish" (cf. Basque txar "bad, faulty"), Andalusian doublet of charro (see above; DRAE).
zarza "bramble", fr OSp çarça (mod. Portuguese sarça), fr early Basque (Oihenart; 17th century) çarzi (modern sasi "bramble", sarri "bush, thicket") (Trask 1997, 421). Ousted Old Spanish rubo, from Lat rubus.
zatico/zatillo "piece of bread" (cf. Basque zati)
zorra "fox" , from Portuguese zorra "dray; sly fox", from zorro "idle", from obsolete zorrar "to lag, drag" (DRAE), from Basque zuhur "clever, sly; cautious, discreet" (Trask 1997, 421), akin to Occitan mandra "fox", from adjective mandre, -a "wily". Ousted raposa, literally, "bushy (tail)"; inherited volpe still retained in Galician, volp in Old Catalan, and vulpeja (gulpeja until 14th century) "vixen" in Spanish.
zulo "hole" (cf. Basque zulo). Recent loanword
zurdo "left-handed" (also Galician mao xurda 'left hand', Portuguese surro, churro, churdo; cf. Basque zur "wood; stingy", zurrun "rigid, hard; pole, beam") (Coromines)
zurrón "sack" (cf. Basque zorro)

Iberian

ardilla "squirrel", diminutive of obsolete arda, from harda.
argaña, from *arganna
árgoma "heather"; related to argaña
aro "big metal or wooden ring". Perhaps instead from an Indo-European word *aros "circle; wheel" (BDELC).
arroyo "stream", from LL arrugia "mineshaft" (Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 33.70), from Iberian meaning "stream, channel"; also Portuguese arroio, Friulian roggia, Italian (Val Gardena) roia, Venetian roza; related to Spanish cuérrago "riverbed".
artiga "busted sod, tilled earth" (> artigar "to till, bust sod"; DRAE). Coromines proposed instead: 1) Celtic or Indo-European word akin to Welsh aredig "tillage" or 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";^[5] 2) Iberian ^[6]
balsa "pond, pool" (also Catalan bassa). Pre-Roman, probably Iberian (BDELC). (In Basque it is a Spanish loanword).
barda "boundary hedge, fence, or wall; brush, thorn, or straw covering over pens or orchards"; perhaps Iberian (also in [Sardinian language]). (BDELC)
barro "mud" (also Aragonese bardo, Catalan bard), from *bardum; alternatively, from Hispano-Celtic.
calabaza "pumpkin", from *calapacceu (cf. Catalan carabassa), from calappacu "lizard, reptile, turtle" (see galápago below).
cama "bed"; (Isidore, 7th century) (BDELC, 101), from Iberian.
caspa "dandruff"
cazurro "rude, unsociable, malicious", formerly "obscene, crass, lewd"; alternatively from Arabic qadur "unsociable, dirty"^[7]
coscojo "kermes oak gall" (also Catalan coscoll "scarlet"), from Latin cusculius, from Iberian.
cuérrago "riverbed", from Latin Latin corrugus "canal, water conduit in a mine", from Iberian; related to arroyo.
galápago "tortoise" (also Catalan calàpat "toad"), from *calappacu.
gándara "low wasteland, wilderness", from Late Latin gangadia.
garabato "pothook; squiggle"
garduña "marten"
garma "scree, steep mountain slope"
gazapo "young rabbit" (also Portuguese caçapo)
gordo "fat", from Latin gurdus "thick, heavy, clumsy, awkward" (Quintilian, a.d. 35-100, Institutio Oratoria 1.5.57, used for stolidus "stupid"); also Portuguese, French gourd "numb, stiff', Italian dialects.
gusano (var. gusarapo) "worm" (rivaled by inherited Sp verme)
manteca "lard" (Pg manteiga, Cat mantega), from *manteica. Corminas suggests an Indo-European origin.
maraña "thicket"
marueco, morueco "(uncastrated) ram" (also Catalan marrà, mardà), from *mard-.
parra "grapevine, trellis" (also Catalan/Portuguese parra, Occitan parran); Corominas (BDELC) gives Gothic *parra, -ans "surrounded, encircled", yet no such form or related word is attested in any Germanic language.
perro "dog", originally "cur"; ousted Old Spanish can
rebeco "ibex", from older rebezo (1475), robezo (1434), from Old Spanish ueko, from Late Latin hybicum, from Latin ibex, -icis, from Iberian, with influence from Old Spanish reves(s)o "cantankerous, not broken in, untamed".^[8]
sima "chasm"; Coromines considers to be dubious the comparison with some Indo-European words with meanings as "frontier" or "cord".
sobaco "underarm, armpit" (also Portuguese sovaco)
tamo "chaff"
urraca "magpie" (BDELC p. 564); alternatively from Hispano-Celtic *vracca "crone"; cf. Old Irish fracc "woman", Breton gwrac'h "old woman, crone", Cornish gwragh "crone, witch", Welsh gwrach "id."; derivative of *vraci: Br gwreg "woman", C gwrêk, W gwraig.

Notes

↑ But the DRAE includes lurte as a Spanish word used in Huesca)
↑ X. Ballester and R. Quinn "Cuniculus - 'Rabbit': A Celtic Etimology", World Rabbit Science 10, 2002, pp. 125-129 ]
↑ "Notte sulle malaltie suine e degli animali in genere e sulle voci albanesi per 'maiale' et sim"
↑ Trumper, op. cit., p. 4, footnote 13.
↑ See Llorente p.131
↑ See the abstract in Moisés Selfa Sastre Toponimia del Valle Medio del Ésera (Huesca). Estudio lingüístico y cartografía Doctoral dissertation, Universitat de Lleida, 2000, page 145.
↑ Francisco Marquez-Villanueva, Obscenity: Social Control and Artistic Creation in the European Middle Ages, ed. Jan M. Ziolkowski (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 100.
↑ "Etimología de rebeco ‘gamuza’ y de reveso ‘rebeco’ y ‘(pez) rémora’", Boletin de la Real Academia Española, 81 (2001), 223-53.

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 978-0-415-13116-2.
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.