The Bible in Spain. Volume 2 of 2

Aoud. Arab. According to Borrow, a stallion. It is the Moorish ‘aud = horse.

Aquel. Span. That.

Arco. Span. and Port. A bow, an arch.

Ardoa. Guipuzcoan and Biscayan for arno, arnoa, wine, the final a being the definite article.

Argelino. Span. A native of Algiers.

Armada. Span. and Port. A fleet, or navy.

Aromáli. Rom. Truly. Arromales = caramba. J.

Arriero. Span. Muleteer; one who cries arrhé or harré, Arabic “Gee up!” The older form of Harriero, given in the Dictionary of the Spanish Academy, more clearly preserves this etymology.

Arroba. Span. and Port. A weight equal to about 25 lbs. English. Arab, ar ruba‘, a quarter.

Arroyo. Span. A brook, stream.

Artesano. Span. Artisan, workman.

Ashor. Hebr. Jewish feast of the tenth (day), ‘āsor. It is really the Arabic ‘ashūrā.

Atajo. Span. A short cut, material or moral; an expedient of any kind. Lit. a tying; atar, to tie.

Atalaya. Span. A watch-tower. Port. atalaia. A word of Arabic origin; aṭ-ṭalí‘ah, a view.

Attar. Arab. Essence. More correctly, ‘aṭar. Frequently in combination. The Eng. otto.

Auslandra. Milan. The meaning of this word is given by Borrow himself as “to roam about in a dissipated manner.” It is obviously the Germ. Ausland, “a foreign country,” made into an Italian verb. On the authority of the native of Como, whom Borrow met at Cerrig y Drudion, it was considered a vulgar word, even in the gergo of the Milanese, and that it is so may be proved by a reference to Cherubini, Vocabolario Milanese-Italiano, s.v. Slándra, Slandrà.

Auto da fé. Port. Span. auto de fé. Execution of persons condemned by the Inquisition.

Avellana. Span. A filbert.

Ayana. Arab. According to Borrow, a locust. It is not an ordinary Arabic word, possibly of some North African dialect.

Azabache. Span. Jet. The Arab, as-sabaj.

Azabacheria. Span. Jet-market.

Azinheira. Port. The holm-oak.

Azumbre. Span. A measure for liquids, the eighth of an arroba, equal to about half a gallon. From the Arab. ath-thumn = the eighth.

Bab. Arab. Gate. Bab del Faz, gate of Fez.

Bacalhão. Port. (In Span. Bacallao or Abadejo). Salt cod, commonly imported from the Newfoundland coast.

Bahar. Arab. Sea.

Bahi or Baji. Rom. Fortune. Penar baji, decir la buena ventura, to tell fortunes. According to Borrow, the Sanscrit and Persian baḥkt.

Bakh, Bok. Rom. Luck. Kosko bakh, “Good luck to you!” P. ii. 398; A. 47; M. vii. 14.

Balad. Arab. Land. Also beled.

Balichó. Rom. A hog. P. ii. 420; A. 54; M. vii. 15.

Bar. Aram. Son.

Bar. Rom. A stone. P. ii. 409; M. vii. 16.

Bar Lachí. Rom. The loadstone; a gypsy charm or talisman. Lit. “the good stone.” See Lachó.

Baria. Rom. Used by Borrow in ch. x., and given in Z. ii. 147, as Germanía, or thieves’ slang, for a gold onza (q.v.). Cf. varia = weight. A. 12. It is also the plural of bar, used by English gypsies for a sovereign. The correct Gitano for onza is jara.

Baribú, Baributre, Baribustre. Rom. Plenty, much. P. ii. 400; M. vii. 17.

Baro. Rom. Great. Len Baro = the great river, the Guadalquivir. Hokkano Baro = the great trick. See Hok. P. ii. 411; A. 59; M. vii. 17.

Barra. Arab. Outside; out of the town. See Soc.

Barraganeria. Span. Concubinage. See note, i. 157.

Barranco, Barranca. Span. A fissure in a hill, a deep cleft, made by the action of water; a precipice.

Barrete. Span. A helmet, cap.

Barrio. Span. One of the quarters or districts into which a large town is divided. Fr. quartier.

Batu, Bato. Rom. Father. Perhaps from the Russ. batuschca, q.v. In thieves’ slang, a prison governor or jailer. P. ii. 430; F. 145; G. i. 61; J.

Batuschca, Batushka. Russ. Little father. A term of endearment or familiar address, something like the Span. tio, uncle.

Beber. Span. and Port. To drink.

Becoresh. Hebr. I.e. Epikores = Epicurus, selected by Jewish writers as a type of insolent atheism.

Bedeya. Arab. An open waistcoat. More correctly, bad‘iyya.

Belad. Hebr. In the power of.

Beled. Arab. Country. Also balad.

Bellota. Span. An acorn. The Portuguese bolota; Arab, balūt.

Ben, plur. Beni. Hebr. and Arab. Son.

Bendito. Span. and Port. Blessed, praised.

Beng, Bengue, Bengui. Rom. The devil; also any demon, or evil spirit. P. ii. 407; M. vii. 19. As to the meaning, frog or toad, see G. i. 118.

Beraka. Hebr. A blessing.

Besti, Bestis. Rom. A seat, chair, or saddle. P. ii. 428; M. vii. 20. Borrow, however, seems to use it as a slang form of the following.

Bestia. Span. An animal. “You brute!”

Birdoche. Rom. Used by Borrow in ch. ix. for a stage-coach or galera, q.v. It is probably connected with bedo, berdo, a cart. Z. ii. * 17. Eng. Rom. vardo. See P. ii. 80; A. 68; M. viii. 96.

Boca. Span. and Port. Mouth.

Boda, Bodas. Span. and Port. Marriage, a wedding.

Bogamante, Bogavante. Span. The slang name for a large lobster; orig. the stroke-oar of a galley; bogar = to row, avante = in front.

Bohémien. Fr. A gypsy.

Bolota. Port. (Span. Bellota.) An acorn.

Bolsa. Span. and Port. (1) A purse. (2) The Exchange.

Bombardó. Rom. A lion. Used also of the gulf usually called the Gulf of Lyons, but in French La Golfe du Lion, or “Gulf of the Lion,” from its stormy water. Lyons on the Rhone may have given the English, but certainly not the French, name to the bay. P. ii. 432.

Bonanza. Span. Fair weather. See note, ii. 273.

Bonito. Span. and Port. Pretty.

Borracho. Span. and Port. A drunkard. Borracha is a wine-skin, or leathern bottle. Hence Shakespeare’s Borachio.

Borrico. Span. Dimin. of Burro, an ass.

Bota. Span. A leather wine-bottle or bag; usually made of the skin of a pig for storing purposes, of goatskin for travelling. A glass bottle is called frasco or botella.

Brasero. Span. Brazier; brass or copper pan to hold live coals.

Bretima, Bretema, Bretoma. Gal. A low-lying mist or fog. When thick and damp it is called – also in Galician —mexona.

Bribon, Bribonazo. Span. A vagrant, vagabond, or impostor. The termination in bribonazo does not express action, as in such words as calmazo, q.v., but augmentation.

Briboneria. Span. Knavery, rascality.

Broa. Port. and Gal. Barona. Span. and Gal. Brona. Gal. A bread made of a mixture of maize (2 parts), rye (4), millet (1), and panic-grass (1).

Brotoboro. Rom. First. Grk. πρῶτος. Brotorbo, J.

Brujo or Bruxo. Span., Port., and Gal. A sorcerer, or wizard.

Buckra. Arab. Bikr, a virgin; used (ii. 357) for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Bueno. Span. Good. Buenas noches, “good night.”

Bufa. Rom. A manger, crib. P. ii. 433.

Bul, Bulláti. Rom. The anus. P. ii. 422.

Burra. Span. and Port. Jackass; she-ass.

Busnó. Rom. A man who is not a gypsy, a Gentile. P. ii. 434; Pp. 172; M. vii. 26.

Ca. Span. An abbreviated form of Carajo, q. v.

Cabalgadura. Span. A sumpter horse or mule; beast of burden.

Caballejo, or Caballuelo. Span. Pony.

Caballeria. Span. Is used either of a single horse, mule, or ass used for riding, as the Fr. monture, or for a number of such beasts together. The word in the plural also signifies chivalry or knighthood.

Caballero. Span. Lit. a cavalier, but constantly used either as a mode of polite address, “Sir,” or in speaking of a gentleman, whether mounted or on foot.

Cabaña. Span. (1) A shepherd’s hut or cabin. (2) A flock, or assemblage of flocks, of sheep, under the charge of a mayoral, driven to and from the wild pasture lands of Estremadura. See note, i. 146.

Cacharro. Span. A coarse earthen pan or pot.

Cachas. Rom. Shears, scissors. Z. i. 244; P. ii. 99; cachais, R. 295.

Cachimani. Rom. A wine-shop, or tavern. Cachiman, J. See P. ii. 117; M. i. 19.

Caes. Port. A wharf.

Cafila, rather Ḳāfilah. Arab. A caravan.

Calabozo. Span. Dungeon or underground cell. Calabozero, the keeper thereof; turnkey.

Calash. Eng. A two-wheeled carriage with a hood; a buggy. Span. calesa; Port. caleça; Fr. calèche.

Caldas. Span. and Port. Warm Baths. Used most frequently in combination as a place name; e.g. Caldas de Reyes, called by Borrow (i. 394) Caldas de los Reyes, in Galicia.

Calés. Rom. Plur. of Caló, Caloró. A gypsy; lit. a black and dark man. See Caló.

Calesero. Span. (1) The driver of a calesa. (2) The driver of any carriage or cart.

Callar. Span. To be silent. Calla boca, “Hold your tongue!”

Callardó, Gallardó. Rom. A black man, mulatto. See Caló.

Calle. Span. A street.

Callee,Callí. Rom. Fem. of Caló, q. v.

Callicaste. Rom. (1) Yesterday. (2) Tomorrow. So in English Rom. cóllico, káliko. P. ii. 107; LL. 7.

Calmazo. Span. A calm at sea. Lit. an “attack” or “stroke” of calm, such being the force of the termination azo; as puñal, a poignard; puñalazo, the blow of a poignard.

Caló, Caloró. Rom. One of the kalo rat, or black blood; a gypsy. P. ii. 106; A. 44; M. vii. 71; G. i. 178.

Camarera. Span. A lady’s maid, chambermaid.

Campiña. Span. The open country, the fields. Dimin. of Campo.

Campo. Span. and Port. The country. In the mouths of English-speaking Argentines it has become “the camp,” conveying no idea whatever of the Anglo-Indian “camp,” or “marching” with tents, or “camping out.”

Campo Santo. Span., Port., and Ital. A churchyard, cemetery.

Canallis. See Jara Canallis.

Candory, plur. Candoré. Rom. Christian. P. ii. 125; McR. 46.

Canónigo. Span. A canon or prebendary of a cathedral.

Capataz. Span. and Port. Not capitaz. A head man; overseer; ganger; steward on a farm. From Lat. caput.

Capilla. Span. A chapel.

Capitular. Span. Belonging to the chapter. Sala capitular, chapter-house.

Carajo. Span. “The great oath of Spain, which ought never to be written or pronounced in full, practically forms the foundation of the language of the lower orders; it is a most ancient remnant of the phallic abjuration of the evil eye, the dreaded fascination which still perplexes the minds of Orientals, and is not banished from Spanish and Neapolitan superstitions. The word terminates in ajo, on which stress is laid; the j is pronounced with a most Arabic guttural aspiration. The word ajo means also garlic, which is quite as often in Spanish mouths, and is exactly what Hotspur liked – a ‘mouth-filling oath,’ energetic and Michael Angelesque.” – Ford’s Spain, Introd. p. 35. For “the evil eye,” see; Z. i. 138.

Carals. Catalan for Carajo, q. v.

Caramba. Span. A polite modification of the grosser Carajo, q. v.

Carbonero. Span. A charcoal-burner; also a collier.

Carcel. Span. A prison.

Carcelero, Carcelera. Span. A male or female jailer; or the latter may be merely the wife of a jailer.

Carlino, Carlista. Span. A partisan of Don Carlos.

Carlo. Rom. Heart. P. ii. 125. It also means “throat,” the only meaning in English Rom. P. ii. 96; A. 66; Pp. 299; SC. 91.

Carracho. Gal. A tick, or small parasite found on dogs and cattle. Carracha is a somewhat similar pest of the human body. The word, which is not Spanish, is used by Borrow as an expletive, instead of the coarser Carajo, q. v.

Carrascal. Span. and Port. A plantation or grove of the following.

Carrasco. Span. and Port. The ilex, or evergreen oak.

Carreta. Span. and Port. A long and narrow cart.

Carretera. Span. A high-road. Fr. voie carrossable.

Carronade. O. Eng. A short cannon of large bore, usually carried on board ship. The word has nothing to do with cannon, but is derived from the Scotch town of Carron, in Stirlingshire, where these pieces were first made in 1779. They were not used after 1852, and the name is obsolete.

Carta. Span. and Port. A letter.

Casa. Span. and Port. House.

Caspita. Span. “Wonderful!” Milder than Caramba, q. v.

Castellano. Span. A Castilian. Hablar Castellano, to talk Spanish.

Castumba. Rom. Castile.

Cavalgadura. Gal. See Cabalgadura.

Cavalheiro. Port. See Caballero.

Céad. Irish. A hundred.

Cerrada. Span. and Port. Closed, concealed, dark.

Cerro. Span. and Port. A hill, hillock.

Chabí. Rom. A girl. See Chabó.

Chabó, Chabé, Chaboró. Rom. A boy, youth, fellow. P. ii. 181; A. 51; Pp. 528; M. vii. 30; McR. 100. Possibly the origin of the English slang, “chap.”

Chachipé. Rom. The truth. P. i. 138; ii. 178; A. 29; Pp. 523; M. vii. 27.

Chai. Rom. Irreg. plur. of Chabó, q. v. Chaps; used commonly for gypsies.

Chal. Rom. A lad, boy, fellow; possibly the same as chiel, childe. Rómano-chal, a gypsy. McR. 98.

Chali del Bahar. Arab. Bahar is “the sea” in Arabic; shát is “the shore.” Chali is possibly a misprint for this.

Chalan. Span. A jockey or horse-dealer.

Chardí, Cháti. Rom. A fair. I cannot find this word except in Borrow (Z. ii. * 36), though J. gives chandí. Borrow derives it from Hind, chhetr = field. If so it is perhaps connected with char, chor = grass. P. ii. 198; Pp. 529; M. vii. 29. Can it be the Persian chatrí– canopy, tent?

Charipé, Cheripen. Rom. Bed, or bedstead. Hind. charpoy = that which has four feet or legs. Borrow (Z. ii.* 37) wrongly suggests the Grk. κρεββάτι, though giving, as elsewhere (LL. 100), the right derivation. P. ii. 203; M. vii. 32.

Chegar. Port. To arrive, land.

Chenourain. Synagogues. From shanūra, an Algerian or low Arabic word.

Chi, Chichí. Rom. Nothing. P. ii. 176; M. vii. 31.

Chibado. Rom. Put into. From chibar, a word used in many senses. P. ii. 184.

Chica. Span. Little girl. Properly the fem. of the adj. chico, which is also used commonly for a boy, especially as a mode of address, or to call attention, hé, chico!

Chicotito. Span. Dimin. of chico. A little fellow, dwarf.

Chim. Rom. Kingdom, country. P. ii. 295; M. viii. 82; Z. ii. * 38; and J.

Chindomar. Rom. A butcher. From chinar = to cut. P. ii. 208; Pp. 538; M. vii. 33.

Chinel. Rom. A man of official position or rank. Especially an alguacil. Russ. chin, rank. P. ii. 204.

Chinobaró. Rom. A head official. Compounded of Chin and Baro, q. v.

Chipe. Rom. Tongue, speech. P. ii. 216; M. vii. 31; SC. 64.

Chiria. Borrow gives this as Sanscrit for “bird,” but I cannot find his authority. The Rom. word is cziriklo, chiriclo. See P. ii. 199.

Chor. Rom. Subs. a thief; verb, to steal. P. ii. 200; A. 46; Pp. 545–6; M. vii. 36.

Choza. Span. A hut or small cottage. According to Dozy and Engelmann it is the Arab. khas.

Chulí, plur. Chulé. Rom. A dollar. Span. peso fuerte. Borrow uses the word in his gypsy St. Luke, xv. 8, etc. P. ii. 205, has “Chuli = Groschen,” and suggests a connexion with tchulo = thick. It is tempting to compare the English slang “a thick ’un” = a sovereign.

Chulí, Churí. Rom. A knife. Hind. churi. P. ii. 210; Pp. 550; M. vii. 39. The form with L is only found in Spanish. Pott suggests that it is a corruption of cuchillo. In Z. ii. 148 it is given as Germanía, or thieves’ slang, and is probably their alteration of the correct churí.

Chuquel. Rom. A dog. P. ii. 213; A. 64; Pp. 553; M. vii. 51; Z. ii. * 132.

Cierra! Span. “Close!” The war-cry of the Castilian chivalry; more fully, Santiago! y cierra España!

Cierto. Span. Sure, certain.

Ciervo. Span. A stag.

Cocal. Rom. A bone. P. ii. 92; A. 52; Pp. 289; M. vii. 85.

Coisa, Cousa. Port. A thing.

Colegio. Span. A college.

Comer. Span. and Port. To eat.

Comitiva. Span. and Port. Suite, following, company.

Commercio. Port. Commerce. Span. comercio.

Companheiro. Port. Companion, comrade.

Comprar. Span. and Port. To buy.

Comunero. Span. A member or partisan of the Communities of Castile. See Burke’s Hist. of Spain, ii. 316.

Con. Span. With.

Conciudadano. Span. A fellow-citizen.

Conde. Span. and Port. A count, or earl. Lat. comes. A title at one time greater than that of duke in Spain. See Burke’s Hist. of Spain, i. 148.

Condenado. Span. Condemned, damned.

Conquistar. Span. and Port. To conquer.

Constitucion. Span. Constitution; the constitution of 1812.

Contrabandista. Span and Port. A smuggler.

Conversacion. Span. Conversation. As an interjection, “Folly! rubbish!”

Copita. Span. A wine-glass, or small drinking-cup; dimin. of copa.

Copla. Span. and Port. A couplet, or a few lines of poetry. The original Spanish of the lines quoted ii. 62 is as follows —

“Un manco escribió una carta;Un siego 183 la está mirando;Un mudo la está leyendo;Y un sordo la está escuchando.”(Rodriguez Marin, Cantos Populares Españoles, tom. iv. p. 364, No. 7434.)

Corahai or Corajai. Rom. The Moors of Northern Africa. P. ii. 127; A. 27; Pp. 320; M. vii. 64.

Corahanó, fem. Corahaní. Rom. A Moor. See Corahai.

Corchete. Span. and Port. A catchpoll. Lit. a clasp; corchetes are “hooks and eyes.”

Corço. Gal. A stag, or deer.

Cordoves. Span. Of or belonging to Cordova.

Corregidor. Span. A municipal magistrate. Orig. a co-regidor, or joint administrator of the law; not, as Midshipman Easy and the Boatswain decided, a corrector, though the word also has that signification in Spanish. As regards the magistrate, the second r is superfluous and etymologically deceptive.

Corrida. Span. and Port. A racecourse; bull-fight.

Cortamanga. The word is not given in any dictionary that I have consulted. Borrow evidently alludes to a vulgar and obscene gesture, usually called un corte de mangas. It is made by bringing down the right hand on the left forearm, and raising the left forearm, with the middle finger of the left hand raised and the other fingers bent. It is not under corte or manga either in Covarrubia or the 1730 edit. of the Dic. Acad. Esp., or more recent ones, probably on account of its indecent signification. I have never seen it written. The finger part of the business is of course as old as the Romans, and survives still in Italy.

Corte. Span. and Port. The king’s court; more particularly the city where the court resides – thus the capital. Applied colloquially and in commercial correspondence to Madrid, Lisbon, Rio Janeiro, etc.

Cortejo. Span. and Port. A lover. Orig. courtesy or homage. Cortejar = to do homage to.

Cortes. Span. and Port. The estates of the realm, parliament.

Cortijo. Span. Farmhouse.

Cosas. Span. Things. “Cosas de España,” “Cosas de Inglaterra,” “Cosas de los Ingleses.” Colloquially equivalent to our, “How Spanish!” “Quite English!”

Crallis. Rom. King. The Slavonian kral. P. ii. 123; Pp. 296; M. vii. 87.

Creer. Span. To believe. Yo lo creo, “I believe you, my boy!” “You bet!”

Cria. Span. and Port. A brood.

Criscote. Rom. A book. See Gabicote.

Cristiano. Span. Christian. Used in Spain for the Spanish language.

Cristino. Span. A partisan of Queen Christina.

Cruz. Span. and Port. A cross; also the withers of a horse or mule.

Cruzado. Span. and Port. A coin worth about six shillings. See Burke’s Hist. of Spain, ii. 286.

Cuadrilla. Span. A band.

Cuarto. Span. A copper coin of the value of four maravedis, or about one English farthing. Lit. the fourth part of anything.

Cuenta. Span. Bill, reckoning.

Cuesta. Span. A hill, or mount.

Cuidado. Span. and Port. Care, anxiety. The Andalusians and Gitanos say cuidao.

Cul. Arab. Every, all.

Cura. Span. and Port. Parish priest. Fr. curé; not a “curate.” The writer usually known as El Cura de Fruime (i. 401) was D. Diego Antonio Zernadas de Castro, born at Santiago in 1698. He wrote various works in verse and prose, a complete edition of which, in seven volumes, was published by Ibarra (Madrid, 1778–81), and was followed by another, in three volumes, in 1783–9–90. A biography of the author, by D. Fernando Fulgosio, appeared in the Revista de España, tomos 27, 28 (1872). There was another Cura de Fruime, D. Antonio Francisco de Castro, who was also a poet, and who died in 1836.

Curelar. Rom. To do business. P. ii. 111; Pp. 281; M. vii. 88.

Cureló. Rom. Trouble, pain. P. ii. 115. See Curelar.

Curioso. Span. and Port. Inquiring, curious.

Dadas. Span. and Port. Given. From dar.

Dai. Rom. Mother. P. ii. 309; Pp. 194; M. vii. 40.

Daoud. Arab. Light. Arab. ḍau. Daoud Scharr = ḍau ash-sharr, light of mischief.

Dar. Arab. A house; often found in composition as Dar-sinah, Dar ṣinā‘ah (ii. 367), the house of the arts, or handicrafts; Dar-dwag, Dar dabbagh (ii. 371), the house of the bark, or tannery.

Dehesa. Span. Pasture; applied more particularly to large open tracts of country where the cattle can roam at large.