List of Spanish words of Basque origin

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This is a list of Spanish words which are considered to be of Basque origin. Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from other languages.^{[clarification needed]} 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 < abar "branch", because they were originally made of branches).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).
• 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 "shack" (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 "top hat", 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 'little dog'^[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", Aragonese caparra "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 "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)

Names[]

Forenames[]

• Íñigo, from Eneko, derived from the Old Basque name Enneco, which means "my little dear", from ene (my) + ko (little).^[5][6]
• Iñaki, a neologism created by Sabino Arana meaning Ignatius, to be a Basque name analog to "Ignacio" in Spanish, "Ignace" in French, and "Ignazio" in Italian, and an alternative to the names Eneko and Iñigo.^[7]
• Javier, from Xabier, from Basque etxe berri, meaning 'new house' or 'new home'^[8]
• Jimeno, Ximeno, Chemene, Exemeno, from Ximen,^[9] a variant of the medieval Basque given name Semen, root seme < senbe 'son' as found in the ancient Aquitanian name Sembetten, attested form "sehi" as 'child', hypothetical ancient root *seni (cf. Koldo Mitxelena and modern form "senide" = 'brother or sister', 'relative')
• Sancho, from Santxo, derived from Latin name Sanctius, which, in turn, derived from sanctus, meaning "holy".^[10]
• Vasco, Velasco, derived from Basque "belasko", 'small raven'^[11]

See also[]

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

Notes[]

References[]

• Corominas, Juan. Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd edn. Madrid: Gredos, 1973. (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 prerromanas 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, 23rd edn. Madrid, 2014. (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.