Spanish

How to spell spanish

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce spanish

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does spanish mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Spain, its people, or their language and culture.
2. nounThe Romance language spoken in Spain and much of Latin America.

Spanish in a sentence

• adjective

  The menu featured several spanish dishes from the coast.

• noun

  He studied spanish for three years before moving to Madrid.

• adjective

  They booked a spanish villa for the summer holiday.

• noun

  The instructions were printed in both English and spanish.

Where does spanish come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the place name Spain plus the native English suffix -ish, which marks belonging or relation, much as in 'British' or 'Danish'. Spain itself reaches English through Old French Espaigne, which descended from the Latin Hispania, the Roman name for the whole Iberian peninsula. The Romans may in turn have borrowed Hispania from a Phoenician or Punic term, though its ultimate meaning is debated, with old guesses ranging from 'land of rabbits' to 'land of metals'. The -ish ending is thoroughly Germanic and very old, the same element seen in 'English' and 'foolish', so the word is a hybrid: a Latin-derived place name fitted with a homegrown English tail. Because the suffix is simply -ish and the root keeps a single 'n', the spelling holds no doubled letters, and the only real trap is remembering that, as a nationality word, it is always capitalised.

How the word is built

• span- (from Spain, Latin Hispania)
• -ish (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')