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List of English words of Spanish origin

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This is a list of English language words whose origin can be traced to the Spanish language, also known as "Spanish loan words". There is also a separate list of some words or phrases from Spanish that are sometimes used in English slang, but have not entered the standard lexicon.

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A

abalone
from Spanish abulón, from Ohlone aulon
adobe
from Spanish, from Arabic al-tob, from Coptic tube, ="brick"
adios
from adiós, ="goodbye"
aficionado
from aficionado, ="amateur"
albino
from Spanish or Portuguese, from Latin albus, ="white"
alfalfa
from Spanish, from Arabic al-fisfisa, fresh fodder
alligator
from el lagarto, ="the lizard"
alpaca
from Spanish, from Aymara all-paka
amigo
from amigo, ="friend"
anchovy
from anchoa
armada
from the Spanish navy, La armada española
armadillo
from armadillo, ="little armed one"
arroyo
from arroyo, ="stream"
avocado
from aguacate, from Nahuatl Ahuacatl

B

banana
from Spanish or Portuguese banana, probably from a Wolof word
bandoleer
from Spanish bandolera, ="band (for a weapon or other) that crosses from one shoulder to the opposite hip" and bandolero, ="he who wears a bandoleer"
barbecue
from the Chibcha word barbacoa
barracuda
from barracuda
barranca
from barranca
barriada
from barriada
barrio
from Spanish barrio, =neighborhood
bastinado
from bastonada
bizarre
from bizarro
bodega
from bodega
bolas
from Spanish bolas, =balls
bolero
from Spanish bolero
bonanza
from bonanza
bonito
from bonito
booby
from bobo ="silly"
breeze
from Old Spanish briza--although some hypothisize the term came through Old French bize
bronco or broncho
from bronco
buckaroo
from vaquero, ="cowboy"
burrito
from burrito, = a dish originally from Northern Mexico, literally "little donkey"
burro
from burro, ="donkey"

C

caballero
from caballero
cabana
from cabaña
cacique
from Spanish, from Taino
cafeteria
from cafetería, "coffee store"
calaboose
from Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo
caldera (used in geology)
from Spanish caldera, "=cauldron"
camarilla
from camarilla ="small room"
cannibal
from Spanish caníbal, alteration of caríbal, from Caribe
canoe
from Spanish canoa, from Haitian canaoua
canyon
from cañón
carabao
from Spanish from Visayan language , from Malay language.
caramba
from Spanish ; expression of dread, displeasure, or disapproval, euphemism for carajo ="penis"
carbonado
from carbonada
cargo
from cargo, carga
cassava
from cazabe, from Taino caçábi
caudillo
from caudillo
cedilla
from cedilla
chayote
from Spanish, from Nahuatl chayotl
chicha
from Spanish chicha, from Panama native American language chichab, ="maize"
chicle
from chicle, from Nahautl tzictli
chile
from Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chilli
chipotle
from Spanish, smoked jalapeño, from Nahuatl chilpoctli
chocolate
from Spanish chocolate, from Nahuatl xocolatl
churros
from churros
cigar
from Spanish cigarro, from Mayan sicar, sic (="tobacco")
cigarette
from French cigarette, diminutive of French cigare, from Spanish cigarro
cilantro
from Spanish cilantro
coca
from Spanish, from Quechua coca
cocaine
from Spanish, cocaína, from Quechua kúka
cockroach
from Spanish cucaracha
cocoa or cacao
from Spanish cacao, from Nahuatl cacáhuatl
comrade
from French camarade, from Spanish camarada
condor
from Spanish, from Quechua cuntur
conquistador
from conquistador
coquina
from coquina
cordillera
from cordillera
corral
from corral
corrida
a bullfight
coyote
from Spanish coyote, from Nahuatl coyotl
creole
from Spanish criolo
crimson
from Old Spanish cremesín, from Arabic qirmizI, from qirmiz kermes
crusade
blend of Middle French croisade & Spanish cruzada; both ultimately from Latin cruc-, crux cross
cumbia
from cumbia

D

demarcation
from Spanish demarcación, as in demarcation problem or demarcation point
dengue
from Spanish dengue, from Swahili dinga, ="seizure"
desaparecidos
from Spanish, ="missing"
desperado
alteration of Spanish desesperado, ="desperate"
don
from Spanish Don, title of respect (as in Don Juan and Don Quixote). Now used for the upper echelon of some British universities.
duende
from Spanish dialect, charm, from Spanish, ghost, goblin, probably from duen de casa, from dueño de casa owner of a house


E

El Dorado
from El Dorado, literally, "the golden one"
El Niño
from El Niño de la Navidad, literally, "the christmas child" due to the warming of Pacific waters seemed to warm around Christmas
embargo
from Spanish embargar ="to bar"

F

fajita
from fajita
fandango
from fandango
fiesta
from Spanish, =festival or holiday
filibuster
from Spanish filibustero, ="pirate", from French flibustier, from Dutch vrijbuiter, ="freebooter"
Filipino, -a
from filipino, -a, belonging or from the Islas Filipinas ="Philippine islands"
flamenco (dance)
from flamenco
flamingo
from Portuguese or Old Spanish flamengo. Current Spanish spelling is flamenco.
flotilla
from flota (="fleet") then flotilla (="little fleet")
frijol
from frijol, bean.

G

galleon
from Spanish galeón
gaucho
from Spanish, from Quechua huachu, ="orphan"
guacamole
from Spanish, from Nahuatl ahuacatl then Spanish aguacate (="avocado") and mole (="mash")
guanaco
from Spanish, from Quechua wanacu
guano
from Spanish, from Quechua huanu, ="dung"
guava
from guaba, guayaba, perhaps from Taino
guerrilla
from guerrilla, "little war"
guitar
from Spanish guitarra

H

hacienda
from hacienda
hammock
from Spanish hamaca, from Arawak
hombre
from hombre
hoosegow
from juzgado =court of law, also past participle of juzgar "to judge".
hurricane
from Spanish huracán, from Taino (Juracán is the Taino god of storms)(from Quiché)

I

Inca
from Spanish inca, from Quechua
incommunicado
from incomunicado
iguana
from Spanish iguana from Arawak

J

jaguar
from Spanish jaguar from Guaraní yaguar
jalapeño
from Spanish, a type of spicy chilli named after Jalapa de Enríquez, a town in Mexico, and the capital of the state of Veracruz
jerky
from Spanish charqui, from Quechua ch'arki, ="dried flesh"
junta or junto
from Spanish junta, a group of leaders, usually military officers in a coup d'état. As an adjective it means "together".

K

key
from Spanish cayo, from Taino (this is English 'key'/'cay'/'quay' as in an island, reef or a linked series of them, not the 'key' with which you lock/unlock)

L

ladino
from ladino
lagniappe
from Louisiana French, from Spanish la ñapa or la yapa, from Quechua yapa, ="help" or "increase"
La Niña
see "El Niño"
lariat
from la riata
lasso
from lazo
latino
from latinoamericano, ="Latin American"
llama
from Spanish llama, from Quechua
llano
from Spanish, plains, grassland
loco
from Spanish loco, ="insane", "crazy"
luminaria
from Mexican Spanish

M

machismo
from macho, =male
macho
from macho, =male
maize
from Spanish maíz from Taino mahís
mantilla
from mantilla
maquila
from maquila, ="share of product kept by the miller", from Arabic makīlah, "thing that have been measured"
maquiladora
from maquila
maravedi
from maravedi
margarita
from Margarita, ="daisy or Margaret", from Greek "pearl".
mariachi
from Spanish, from French mariage ="marriage", a type of musical group and its players, originally from Mexico
marijuana
from marihuana
maroon
from cimarrón(="wild")
matador
from matador (="killer")
mate
from Spanish, from Quechua mati, ="small squash"
mesa
from mesa, table. The corresponding Spanish word to a flat top mountain is meseta
mescal
from Spanish mezcal, from Nahuatl mexcalli
mestizo
from mestizo
mole
from Spanish, from Nahuatl molli (="sauce")
mosquito
from mosquito, literally "little fly"
mulatto
from Spanish or Portuguese mulato
mustang
from mestengo or mesteño, ="without known master or owner" (archaic)
mustee
from mestizo

N

nacho
from nacho, a nickname for the given name Ignacio
nada
from nada, = "nothing"
negro
from Spanish or Portuguese negro, ="black"

O

olé
an interjection, an expression of approval or triumph, similar to the Italian bravo, used by spectators of bull fights or football (soccer) matches
oregano
from orégano

P

pachuco
from pachuco
paella
from Spanish paella
palmetto
from palmito
pampa
from Spanish, from Quechua pampa, =plain
papaya
from papaya, akin to Arawak papáia
patio
from patio, inner courtyard, ="an open paved area adjacent to a home"
peccadillo
from pecadillo, ="small sin"
peccary
from Spanish pecarí, from Guaraní
peon
from Spanish peón (="laborer")
peyote
from Spanish, from Nahuatl peyotl (="caterpillar")
Philippines
from Spanish Islas Filipinas ="islands of king Philip II of Spain"
pimento or pimiento
from pimiento
pinta
from pinta
pisco
from pisco
placer mining
from placer, ="sand bank"
platinum
from platino, ="little silver"
playa
from playa
plaza
from plaza',' ="public square, spot or place"
poncho
from poncho, from Araucanian
posada
from posada
potato
from European Spanish patata, itself from batata, = "sweet potato", from Taino and papa, "potato" from Quechua
pronto
from pronto, ="soon"
pronunciamento
from pronunciamiento proclamation, ="military coup d'état", usually establishing a military dictatorship (often a junta)
puma
from Spanish, from Quechua
puna
from puna, from Quechua

Q

quadroon
from cuarterón
quechua
from Spanish, from Quechua qishwa, valley of temperate weather
quesadilla
from quesadilla
quinoa
from Spanish, from Quechua kinua

R

ranch
from rancho
reconquista
from reconquista ="reconquest"
renegade
from renegado
rodeo
from rodeo
rumba
from rumba

S

saguaro
from saguaro, from Piman
salsa
from salsa, ="sauce"
sapodilla
from zapotillo
saraband
from French sarabande in turn from Spanish zarabanda
savanna
from sabana, from Taino zabana
suave
from suave, "smooth"
savvy
from Spanish or Portuguese sabe, "knows"
shack
from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xcalli
sherry
from Old Spanish Xerés [ʃe'ɾes], modern Spanish Jerez [xe'ɾeθ]
sierra
from sierra
siesta
from siesta, ="nap"
silo
from silo
sombrero
from sombrero (literally, shade maker), ="hat"
spur
from espuela
stampede
from estampida
stockade
from a French derivation of the Spanish estacada

T

taco
from taco from the Aztecs
tamale
from Spanish tamales, pl. of tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli, dumpling made from corn flour
tango
from tango
tapioca
from tapioca
tequila
from tequila
tilde
from tilde
tiri
from tiro
tobacco
from Spanish tabaco
tomatillo
from Spanish tomatillo, ="small tomate" (see Physalis ixocarpa)
tomato
from Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl xitomatl
toreador
from toreador
torero
from torero
tornado
from Spanish tornado
tortilla
from tortilla, ="omelet"
tuna
from Spanish atún, from Arabic tun, from Latin thunnus, from Greek θύννος, thynnos (=tuna fish)
turista
from turista ="tourist"

V

vamoose
from vamos, a form of "to go"
vanilla
from vainilla
vicuña
from Spanish, from Quechua wikunna

Y

yam
from ñame--possibly from Portuguese inhame
yerba mate
from Spanish, ="mate grass" (see also Mate)

See also

For a list of words relating to with Spanish language origins, see the Spanish derivations category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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