Amarillo (yellow) comes from the Latin amarellus (amārus) which traces back to the meaning amargo or sour. It is thought this possibly came from the colour of the skin of an unwell person or possibly from the colour of bile which is sour. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Amarillo, the third colour in the rainbow, is primarily used …
The Spanish word for question, pregunta, comes from the Latin verb percontor, meaning to inquire or investigate. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Pregunta is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Siempre hace preguntas interesantes en clase. He always asks interesting questions in class. There are many different types of …
Today we’re going to be investigating a Spanish word that is both a tasty noun and an ice-cold adjective: helado. Its origin can be traced back to the Latin gelātus, the perfect passive participle of gelō (meaning “to freeze”). Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Helado, as a noun, means ice cream. It is a cognate …
The word arcoíris is the combination of the words arco (meaning arch or bow) and iris (meaning rainbow in Latin, the language from which Spanish is derived). Latin American Pronunciation European Spanish Pronunciation There is some debate surrounding how to properly spell ‘rainbow‘ in Spanish. You’ll come across both arcoíris, written as one word with an accent on the í, …
When temperatures are cold and the conditions are right, some of us are lucky enough to see snowfall in the winter time. The Spanish word for snow is nieve and it comes from the Latin nix, nivis with the same meaning. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Nieve is a feminine noun that takes the following …
The origin of the Spanish word bicicleta can be traced back to its components: bi-, a Latin prefix meaning two; kyklos, a Greek word signifying wheel; and -ette, a French diminutive. Latin American pronunciation European pronunciation Bicicleta is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Similar to the English word …