Spanish word of the day
Quote: WizardI also hear the Frankfurter is from Frankfurt. The word house derives from the German haus.
And the name "Yeager" is derived from the german name "Jagger," or so I've heard.
Quote:It is commonly known that the original of kinder garden is the German Kinder Garten, which means "children garden."
That I can attest to. I don't speak German, but Yiddish is pretty clsoe to it. I don't speak Yiddish, either, as noted previopusly, but oen word I do remember is "kindergortn," which does mean kinder garden. BTw, in spanish the term is either "pre-escolar," meaning "pre-school," or "jardín de niños," meaning children's garden."
Quote:I'm sure Paco could give us hundreds of English words with German origins. After all, English is a mixture of influences, one of which is German.
English is primarily a Germanic language. It absorbed a lot of Latin because England was once part of the Roman Empire (all European langauges are influenced by latin to some extent, too, due to Rome's long dominant role in the continent), and by French due to long centuries of war and mutual conquests between what is now France and Britain. Then american English got influenced by Spanish, in part because America absrobed a large swath of mexican territory in the XIX Century.
Quote: NareedBTw, in spanish the term is either "pre-escolar," meaning "pre-school," or "jardín de niños," meaning children's garden."
In books I've read it was jardín de infantes, although that may have referred to "pre-school," although more vogue terms replacing that, like "Early childhood education."
Really? I've always heard that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn, right next to English. Hmmm.Quote: WizardOur own MichaelBluejay is as white as me, but can speak Japanese very well. He says the language is extremely logical and understandable to pick up as a second language.
Quote: WizardIn books I've read it was jardín de infantes, although that may have referred to "pre-school," although more vogue terms replacing that, like "Early childhood education."
Too many althoughs in one sentence. That's a five yard penalty and loss of down at least ;)
You know we agreed spoken English and written English are not the same language? Well, neither are writen Spanish and spoken Spanish. Especially so in books, where you tend to find "literary" Spanish. This last tends towards big and obscure words not found in everyday usage. Not to mention turns of phrase and expressions also not found in every day use. It's pompous and pedantic in many cases, too.
BTW regarding "Hamburger," I understand the suffix "burg" in german means, or originally referred to, something like a walled or fortified city. As hamburger came to mean a sandwich made of a minced or ground beef patty, other kind of minced or ground meat patties came to be called "burgers."
Funny how llanguages evolve, isn't it?
Quote: NareedToo many althoughs in one sentence. That's a five yard penalty and loss of down at least ;)
"Although" is one of my favorite words. My mind tends to wander from topic to topic, and "although" is one of many good ways to connect them. I accept the penalty. Look for a deep pass on my next play.
Quote: NareedI understand the suffix "burg" in german means, or originally referred to, something like a walled or fortified city.
I'm sure Paco will be more useful than me for questions like that. I thought it just mean town or municipality. We have burgs here too, like Pittsburgh. One of my favorite German words is Burgermeister, which means mayor.
Quote: HotBlondeReally? I've always heard that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn, right next to English. Hmmm.
My brother was fairly proficient in Japanese at one time, as were two of my great uncles. It's difficult, but not nearly as hard as tonal languages like Mandardin Chinese, sub-Saharan languages or Mexican indigenous languages. Tonal languages are so alien to European languages that it is very hard for most adults to make the jump. Hence the rush to teach children Mandarin, because it is so hard to learn as an adult.
Quote: WizardI'm sure Paco will be more useful than me for questions like that. I thought it just mean town or municipality. We have burgs here too, like Pittsburgh. One of my favorite German words is Burgermeister, which means mayor.
Nareed is correct that the earliest meaning was a fortified walled town. But most walls were somewhat obsolete after the middle ages. There were still invasions, but a wall was insufficient to stop an invading force.
The town that I grew up in PA was originally a borough, and the head of the town was once called a burgher. It long ago morphed in a city with a mayor. PA and NJ are full of boroughs, but I think NY reserves the terms for the boroughs of New York City.
Quote: pacomartinMy brother was fairly proficient in Japanese at one time, as were two of my great uncles. It's difficult, but not nearly as hard as tonal languages like Mandardin Chinese, sub-Saharan languages or Mexican indigenous languages. Tonal languages are so alien to European languages that it is very hard for most adults to make the jump. Hence the rush to teach children Mandarin, because it is so hard to learn as an adult.
Nareed is correct that the earliest meaning was a fortified walled town. But most walls were somewhat obsolete after the middle ages. There were still invasions, but a wall was insufficient to stop an invading force.
The town that I grew up in PA was originally a borough, and the head of the town was once called a burgher. It long ago morphed in a city with a mayor. PA and NJ are full of boroughs, but I think NY reserves the terms for the boroughs of New York City.
Quote: NareedEnglish is primarily a Germanic language. It absorbed a lot of Latin because England was once part of the Roman Empire (all European langauges are influenced by latin to some extent, too, due to Rome's long dominant role in the continent), and by French due to long centuries of war and mutual conquests between what is now France and Britain. Then american English got influenced by Spanish, in part because America absrobed a large swath of mexican territory in the XIX Century.
English was not really influenced by the Roman Empire control of the British isles. At that time, the native languages were celtic (like Brythonic or Welsh ). When the Anglos and Saxons conquered England they brought the precursor of English. The extreme Latin influence was introduced with Norman Conquest of 1066 that made Old French the language of the ruling class. Usually a French word was introduced into English. That word had a Latin base, and ended up being similar to a Spanish word.
Written English is 50% the same 100 base words (came, come, coming are considered one basic word). Out of those 100 words only 3 are Latin: the verb use, the noun people, and adjective/adverb just. All the rest are Old English or Old Norse descendants.
Frequency table for written English
size - percent - examples
10 - 25% -the, of, and, to, that, have, be, I, in, a
100 - 50% -from, because, go, me, our, well, way,use, people, just
1000 -75% -girl, win, decide, huge, difficult, series
7000- 90% -tackle, peak, crude, purely, dude, modest
50000-95%-saboteur, autocracy, calyx, conformist
rest of words are: laggardly, endobenthic, pomological, ...
Children 5 to 6 years old have a working vocabulary of 2,500 to 5,000 words. The average student learns about 3,000 words per year in the early school years -- that's 8 words per day. Disadvantaged students usually have only half the vocabulary of advantaged students.
Quote: HotBlondeReally? I've always heard that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn, right next to English. Hmmm.
Are you being serious? As far as I am concerned English is one of the most simple languages to learn! Not only it has few words but also the grammar is intuitive and easy to catch.
Quote: pacomartinNareed is correct that the earliest meaning was a fortified walled town.
:)
Quote:But most walls were somewhat obsolete after the middle ages. There were still invasions, but a wall was insufficient to stop an invading force.
Sure. With cannons walls became obsolete. In the race between warhead and armor, warhead always wins.
The point is that's what the suffix means, and at one time it was relevant. Looking at it with hindisght, it's about the same as places in the US called "Fort" something. Forts are as oboslete these days as walled cities.
Quote:The town that I grew up in PA was originally a borough, and the head of the town was once called a burgher.
And ten will get you one if the word "borough" isn't related tot eh German "burg." I never looked at it like that, but now it seems right.
Quote: aluisioAre you being serious? As far as I am concerned English is one of the most simple languages to learn! Not only it has few words but also the grammar is intuitive and easy to catch.
That's an interesting thing to say, as your native language, if memory serves, is Portuguese. Mine is Spanish and I also found English rather easy to learn, after getting over a few bumps concerning syntax and pronunciation.
Quote: NareedThat's an interesting thing to say, as your native language, if memory serves, is Portuguese. Mine is Spanish and I also found English rather easy to learn, after getting over a few bumps concerning syntax and pronunciation.
You are right, Nareed. I am a native portuguese speaker. I think we are both used to conjugate verbs in many tenses and sujects that the shortcuts provided by the English Language states how practical is the use of the idiom.
Quote: aluisioYou are right, Nareed. I am a native portuguese speaker. I think we are both used to conjugate verbs in many tenses and sujects that the shortcuts provided by the English Language states how practical is the use of the idiom.
Something to that. I also found English overall to be more compact, flexible and versatile.
Palabra: Atajar
According to SpanishDict.com, atajar has eight different usages. However, the one I encountered was the first one listed, to take a short cut. Here is the sentence from my book:
Atajamos por un par de patios para llegar hasta allí. = We took a short cut through a couple yards to get there.
However, that does not excuse me from making my own example.
Ejemplo time.
La taxista dijo que atajamos, pero en realidad me llevó por una ruta mucho más larga para aumentar la tarifa. = The taxi driver said we taking a shortcut, but in reality he took me on a much longer route, to increase the fare.
Note: This example dedicated to the Vegas taxi drivers using the airport tunnel to take tourists to Strip hotels. As usual, I'm pretty much taking a guess on the paras and pors. I would not say my chance of being right is above 51%.
Quote: aluisioYou are right, Nareed. I am a native portuguese speaker. I think we are both used to conjugate verbs in many tenses and sujects that the shortcuts provided by the English Language states how practical is the use of the idiom.
I doubt very much that Spanish or Portuguese has a word like 'run" with 946 definitions. While I appreciate that some Spanish words have more than dozen definitions, I think that the extreme use of a single word is not characteristic of Romance languages. Most of the time, I feel like the definitions for a Spanish word are fairly cohesive.
As I said earlier, half of written English consists of only a 100 words. Mostly because they are simple helper words, but a lot has to do with their huge flexibility.
My Spanish teacher always complained about the English verb "to play", that it had so many possible uses. The dictionary suggests
jugar
tocar (musical instrument)
obra de teatro (theatrical play)
obra
caracterizar
practicar
juguetear
desempeñar
ejecutar
disputar
enfrentarse
encarnar
Quote: WizardAccording to SpanishDict.com, atajar has eight different usages. However, the one I encountered was the first one listed, to take a short cut. Here is the sentence from my book:
The word isn't used much, and when it is it means something like "to catch someone on the road," or "to catch a ball in a game." I had no idea it meant to take a short cut, although I know the word for shortcut, much used, is "atajo." But the dictionary does say you're right.
Quote:La taxista dijo que atajamos, pero en realidad me llevó por una ruta mucho más larga para aumentar la tarifa. = The taxi driver said we taking a shortcut, but in reality he took me on a much longer route, to increase the fare.
Note: This example dedicated to the Vegas taxi drivers using the airport tunnel to take tourists to Strip hotels. As usual, I'm pretty much taking a guess on the paras and pors. I would not say my chance of being right is above 51%.
The good news is your example is perfectly all right. Except "LA taxista" means "the female taxi driver." If the driver is male, as per your example, he'd be "EL taxista." But that's a minor quibble.
The bad news is you erred on the English part (don't edit the post).
Quote: NareedThe good news is your example is perfectly all right. Except "LA taxista" means "the female taxi driver." If the driver is male, as per your example, he'd be "EL taxista."
Perhaps I meant a female taxi driver ;-). To be honest, I knew the word was taxista, and played it safe by matching the article to the "a." Why isn't a male taxi driver a taxisto?
Quote:The bad news is you erred on the English part (don't edit the post).
Doh! Actually, I'm happy and surprised I got the Spanish right.
Quote: WizardTo be honest, I knew the word was taxista, and played it safe by matching the article to the "a."
I assumed as much.
Quote:Why isn't a male taxi driver a taxisto?
Some nouns are gender neutral or rather use the same word regarldess of gender. That's the case with "taxista." Others don't, like for instance "doctor" is for a male and "doctora" for a female. But if you go through a long list of professions or titles, you'll find few, if any, ending in "o."
Quote: NareedSome nouns are gender neutral or rather use the same word regarldess of gender. That's the case with "taxista." Others don't, like for instance "doctor" is for a male and "doctora" for a female. But if you go through a long list of professions or titles, you'll find few, if any, ending in "o."
Qué interestante. So, would a male prostitute be an el puta?
Quote: WizardQué interestante. So, would a male prostitute be an el puta?
Not even close :)
Unfortunately that's not something I'm comfrotable discussing. There is a noun for a male ending in an "o," but the meaning is a very derogatory word for "gay."
Palabra: gallito/a
Today's SWD means cocky. It obviously comes from the word gallo, which means rooster.
I find it interesting that in both English and Spanish an adjective would be formed from a rooster, and meaning the same thing, as near as I can tell.
The word for a hen in Spanish is gallina. Would gallinita be a legitimate Spanish word to draw a comparison to a hen?
Ejemplo time.
Sentí gallito, así intenté enumerar 20 dígitos de pi. Sin embargo, ella no pareció impresionado. = I was feeling cocky so I tried to recite 20 digits of pi. However, she didn't seem impressed.
Quote: WizardToday's SWD means cocky. It obviously comes from the word gallo, which means rooster.
How do you keep finding these words? The dictionary backs you up, but, again, I've never heard the word used that way before. When I saw it I assumed you meant a little rooster.
Quote:The word for a hen in Spanish is gallina. Would gallinita be a legitimate Spanish word to draw a comparison to a hen?
I'm not sure I understand the question. "Gallinita" means "little hen." I could get you a recording of les Luthiers' rendition of "La gallinita dijo Eureka," which is rather hilarious.
Quote:Sentí gallito, así intenté enumerar 20 dígitos de pi. Sin embargo, ella no pareció impresionado. = I was feeling cocky so I tried to recite 20 digits of pi. However, she didn't seem impressed.
Just two small errors:
1) "ME sentí...."
2) "..impresionadA"
Other than that it's fine.
Quote: NareedHow do you keep finding these words? The dictionary backs you up, but, again, I've never heard the word used that way before.
In children's books. From Diario de Greg, Fue entonces cuando empezamos a ponernos gallitos y a burlarnos de ellos gritando como monos. = So then we began to get cocky and made fun of them, screaming like monkeys." (My translation to English)
I might add this is a book I purchased in the Mexico City airport.
Quote: WizardI find it interesting that in both English and Spanish an adjective would be formed from a rooster, and meaning the same thing, as near as I can tell.
All the names are "echoic" in the sense they are imitating the sound of the bird.
Old English cocc
Old Norse kokkr
Old French coc
Modern French coq
A common personal name till c.1500, it was affixed to Christian names as a pet diminutive, cf. Wilcox, Hitchcock, etc.
Cock-and-bull is first recorded 1620s, perhaps an allusion to Aesop's fables, with their incredible talking animals, or to a particular story, now forgotten. French has parallel expression coq-à-l'âne.
From about 1600 they were often called a "roost cock". Slang sense of "penis" is attested since 1610s. The term "rooster" favored in the U.S. originally as a puritan alternative to "cock".
As the rooster's basic behavior is easily observed in all cultures, I am not that surprised that the adjective would mean the same thing.
Quote: WizardIn children's books. From Diario de Greg, Fue entonces cuando empezamos a ponernos gallitos y a burlarnos de ellos gritando como monos. = So then we began to get cocky and made fun of them, screaming like monkeys." (My translation to English)
Not bad. You preserve the meaning and the style, but not with precision. So:
"That was when we began to get cocky and started mocking them screaming like monkeys."
Quote:I might add this is a book I purchased in the Mexico City airport.
Now I know what to get you for your birthday :)
Quote: NareedYou preserve the meaning and the style, but not with precision.
I like that phrase. I am going to use that comment some day.
Quote: NareedNot bad. You preserve the meaning and the style, but not with precision.
When it comes to my Spanish, I'll take 2 out of 3 any day.
Quote: pacomartinI like that phrase. I am going to use that comment some day.
Be my guest. But outside translations I don't see where it would apply.
Quote: WizardWhen it comes to my Spanish, I'll take 2 out of 3 any day.
Do you know the Meatloaf song "2 out of 3 Ain't Bad"? It seemed pretty bad to me...
Quote: NareedDo you know the Meatloaf song "2 out of 3 Ain't Bad"? It seemed pretty bad to me...
No. The only Meatloaf song I know is Bat out of Hell. When I was growing up there was a certain kind of kid who liked Meatloaf, and I was not one of them.
Quote: WizardNo. The only Meatloaf song I know is Bat out of Hell. When I was growing up there was a certain kind of kid who liked Meatloaf, and I was not one of them.
I'm not a fan, but I've heard many of his songs and like most of them.
The chorus in the song in question is a boy telling a girl:
"I want you
I need you
But there ain't no way
I'm ever gonna love you
Now, don't be sad
'cause two out of three ain't bad."
See? To me that's pretty bad.
Palabra: Pillar
There seem to be a lot of words for "catch" in Spanish. Here are some of them: atrapar, pescar,capturar, agarrar, coger, and this new one to my list: pillar.
I, of course, defer to the advanced readers, but it seems to me that pillar applies to catching such things as people, a taxi, a concept, or a sickness. It would not seem to apply to catching an object with your hands. To be honest, I'm not sure which one is appropriate for catching a ball, for example.
Before Nareed asks where I got another obscure word, here is the sentence where I found it: Pero esos tipos podían ester escondidos en cualquier parte para pillarnos desprevendidos. = But those types are able to hide anywhere to catch us unprepared. (Again, my translation to English.)
Ejemplo time.
Tengo prisa para pillar el avión a tiempo. = I'm in a hurry to catch the plane on time.
Quote: WizardI, of course, defer to the advanced readers, but it seems to me that pillar applies to catching such things as people, a taxi, a concept, or a sickness.
Mostly people. at least I've never heard it used in any other way. It comes from, or is related to, "pillo" which is one word for "thief."
Quote:It would not seem to apply to catching an object with your hands. To be honest, I'm not sure which one is appropriate for catching a ball, for example.
Well, in Spanish you don't catch a plane, you take one. For a ball, the word is either "atrapar" or "cachar."
Quote:Before Nareed asks where I got another obscure word, here is the sentence where I found it: Pero esos tipos podían ester escondidos en cualquier parte para pillarnos desprevendidos. = But those types are able to hide anywhere to catch us unprepared. (Again, my translation to English.)
You need other books, if you want my opinion. I didn't start reading in English in order to learn the language, or even to practice it. Simply put the books I wanted to read were available only in English. So maybe that makes a difference.
Quote:Tengo prisa para pillar el avión a tiempo. = I'm in a hurry to catch the plane on time.
Not bad, but it's not right (assuming that "pillar el avión" makes sense, which I don't think it does). You didn't say "I'm in a hurry" but rather "I have a hurry," which is bad English but how the word is often used in Spanish. If you wanted to hurry someone up because you're in a hurry yourself, you'd say "Rápido que tengo prisa."
Anyway, the right expression in this case is "Llevo prisa para tomar el avión a tiempo."
Quote: NareedYou didn't say "I'm in a hurry" but rather "I have a hurry," which is bad English but how the word is often used in Spanish. If you wanted to hurry someone up because you're in a hurry yourself, you'd say "Rápido que tengo prisa."
It took me months to get into the habit of saying I "have" color, frio, medio, prisa, etc. with tener. It sounded ridiculous to me to say that one "has" these things. Of course, in English we "are" these things. So now I'm scratching my head again when you say that I said "I have hurry." I wish I were on speaking terms with my tutor to get her take on this. It used to drive her crazy when I would say something like "Estoy frio."
Quote: WizardIt took me months to get into the habit of saying I "have" color, frio, medio, prisa, etc. with tener. It sounded ridiculous to me to say that one "has" these things. Of course, in English we "are" these things. So now I'm scratching my head again when you say that I said "I have hurry."
(transitive) To have, possess an object.
Examples: (1) Ella tiene seis hermanos. — “She has six brothers.” (2) Tengo una pluma. — “I have a pen.”
(transitive) To feel (internally).
Examples: (1) Él tiene mucho cariño para ella. — “He feels much admiration for her.” (2) Tengo frío. — “I feel cold.” (3) Tenemos hambre. — “We are hungry.” (literally: “We feel hunger.”)
I think you have to translate the verb "tener" into two different English verbs that are both Anglo Saxon in origin. One is "to have" and the other is "to feel".
You are saying "I feel hurried" , just as you are saying "I feel cold", or "I feel hot".
------------
Proponents of clarifying the English language suggest that you try and substitute the following types of verbs "taste, feel, smell, sound, grow, remain, stay, and turn" instead of a conjugate of the verb "to be". Instead of saying "the chicken is salty" say "the chicken tastes salty". Instead of saying "I am bored", say "I feel bored". You can think of Spanish as forcing you not to use the simple copula.
Quote: WizardI wish I were on speaking terms with my tutor to get her take on this.
If men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, then Latinas are from Neptune. I can't imagine you said anything nasty.
pillo, travieso, revoltoso, enredador, inquieto, vivaracho, juguetón, diablillo, pícaro
The definition in the dictionary is kind of a mild word for "thief". Like something you might call a dog who steals a bone.
(Question #2)
One web site says that "pues, mire Ud..." is an informal command that means little more than "look ...".
They add the comment -
This is a good one; you can start every sentence you say to a professor with and you'll seem very intellectual while you're actually stalling for time.)
It seems to go with this image: The guy is stalling for time, then had admits he hasn't got a clue. Is that the way you would read it?
(Question #3)
This joke looks like "I've almost got it; have your bag ready". Is that a good translation?
Quote: WizardIt took me months to get into the habit of saying I "have" color, frio, medio, prisa, etc. with tener. It sounded ridiculous to me to say that one "has" these things. Of course, in English we "are" these things. So now I'm scratching my head again when you say that I said "I have hurry." I wish I were on speaking terms with my tutor to get her take on this. It used to drive her crazy when I would say something like "Estoy frio."
You should know better by now than to expect full consistency in languages :)
You can say "tengo prisa" as I illustrated in my post, but as an undefined hurry only. When you're in a hurry to do soemthing, then the correct expression is "llevo prisa" or "traigo prisa." If you say "tengo prisa para tomar el avión," you'd be understood, but probably someone will feel the need to correct you. and you can't afford to waste time on that when you're in a hurry to catch a plane, right? ;)
Quote: pacomartinI think you have to translate the verb "tener" into two different English verbs that are both Anglo Saxon in origin. One is "to have" and the other is "to feel".
You are saying "I feel hurried" , just as you are saying "I feel cold", or "I feel hot".
I agree, but I still don't understand why Nareed said that I said "I have hurry."
Quote:If men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, then Latinas are from Neptune. I can't imagine you said anything nasty.
I'd rather not get into it on the forum, but it wasn't over anything I said. It may just be that she got busy with full time work, and just didn't have time for tutoring any more. Despite the Neptune thing, I'm on the market for a Latina hermosa to take her place.
Palabra: energúmeno
According to SpanishDict.com, energúmeno means:
1 (loco) madman/madwoman
ponerse como un energúmeno to get mad
2 (gritón) loud and irascible person
3 (Política) fanatic; extremist
4 (poseso) person possessed of the devil
However, where I encountered it, it was translated from "teenager," for which there is no direct translation in Spanish. Here is the full sentence:
Ese camino resulta tenebroso ya de por sí, sin necesidad de que te esté dando caza una camioneta llena de energúmenos.
Here is the original English:
Snake Road is scary enough on its own without having a truckload of teenagers hunting you down.
Ejemplo time.
El cura intentaba sacar el demonio de el energúmeno. = The priest tried to remove the demon from the lunatic. (dedicated to FrG).
Quote: WizardHowever, where I encountered it, it was translated from "teenager," for which there is no direct translation in Spanish.
There is a Spanish word for teenager: "adolescente."
I tell you, no wonder I quit reading Spanish translations...
Quote:El cura intentaba sacar el demonio de el energúmeno. = The priest tried to remove the demon from the lunatic. (dedicated to FrG).
The DRAE defines it as "someone possessed" and "someone furious and wild." I suppose madman fits, if talking about a violent crazy person. If pressed for a good equivalent term in English, I'd choose berserk.
Oh, your example is fine, although you may consider using "del" rather than "de el." Either way is correct.
Quote: WizardHowever, where I encountered it, it was translated from "teenager,"
Judging by the photos associated with this word, it seems like too strong of a word to use as a translation for noisy teenagers. It seems like mostly you are referring to sociopaths.
Quote: pacomartin(Question #1) The dictionary lists these words as synonyms. Perhaps you could explain the difference?
pillo, travieso, revoltoso, enredador, inquieto, vivaracho, juguetón, diablillo, pícaro
The definition in the dictionary is kind of a mild word for "thief". Like something you might call a dog who steals a bone.
I know the meanings of all those word, but I've never associated "pillo" with them. Granted when speaking of thieves, people tend to use stronger, more derogatory terms (as is entirely understandable and appropriate), such as "ratero" or "rata."
Quote:It seems to go with this image: The guy is stalling for time, then had admits he hasn't got a clue. Is that the way you would read it?
I would find the use of "pillo" puzzling. It seems to mean "See, here, I don't get it."
Quote:(Question #3)
This joke looks like "I've almost got it; have your bag ready". Is that a good translation?
I see you have an image there, but I don't see it.
Quote: WizardI agree, but I still don't understand why Nareed said that I said "I have hurry."
Well, let's see.
When you say "tengo frío," you mean "I'm cold." If you say "tengo prisa," it does mean "I'm in a hurry." But if you say "tengo prisa para llegar al aeropuerto," that's wrong and it means "I have hurry to get to the airport." Why? I've no idea. But the correct, or the usual, form is to say "llevo prisa para llegar al aeropuerto."
Quote: FrGambleI am curious if energumeno is related to the Spanish word for energy.
I think it comes from a Greek word meaning "possessed"
Quote:Sometimes people call me a fanatic or extremist because I am a priest, but I like to rather think of myself as someone who is excited, energized, and completely committed to something.
That says more about how people define "fanatic." You know "fan" is short for "fanatic"? Yet I wouldn't call most fans of a sports team fanatical (except in soccer, or some Raiders fans)
Quote:Is there a word in Spanish that takes the crazy out of energumeno but leaves the highly energized part?
No. But I think you're groping for a word like "entusiasta" and "entusiasmo." I think you can come up with their nearly identical English equivalents.
Quote: FrGambleI am curious if energumeno is related to the Spanish word for energy. I think there is a big difference between someone who is energized about something and someone who is a fanatic or an extremist. Sometimes people call me a fanatic or extremist because I am a priest, but I like to rather think of myself as someone who is excited, energized, and completely committed to something. Is there a word in Spanish that takes the crazy out of energumeno but leaves the highly energized part?
I am assuming that a priest is familiar with Greek letters
ἐνεργός =From ἐν (en, “in”) + ἔργον (ergon, “work”)
μένος = From Proto-Indo-European *ménos (“mind”), from *men- (“to think”).
So the root words are fairly bening "in" "work" and "mind", but when you put them together as ἐνεργούμενος it means possessed by a demon. Spanish is just a cognate of the Greek word
female - male adjective - English
enérgica - enérgico - energetic
briosa - brioso - spirited
vigoroso- vigoroso -vigorous
Quote: FrGambleSometimes people call me a fanatic or extremist because I am a priest, but I like to rather think of myself as someone who is excited, energized, and completely committed to something. Is there a word in Spanish that takes the crazy out of energumeno but leaves the highly energized part?
I submit for your consideration that an such an adjective, in English, befitting the good Father is effervescent.
No me gusta esa respuesta.Quote: NareedWhy? I've no idea.
Quote: WizardNo me gusta esa respuesta.
¿Prefieres una mentira? ;) Not, mind, that I would know what to make up anyway...
Quote: Nareed¿Prefieres una mentira? ;)
Por supuesto, no. I used to drive my tutor loco with por qué questions. Her answer grew to become a long, exasperated nooooooo sééééééééé.
Quote: WizardI submit for your consideration that an such an adjective, in English, befitting the good Father is effervescent.
It is the same cognate in Spanish: efervescente.
In English it meant to boil over until the 18th century when it acquired it's figurative meaning of being lively.
I do not know if it also acquired the same figurative meaning in Spanish. The DRAE definition is no help.
1. adj. Que está o puede estar en efervescencia.
Quote: WizardPor supuesto, no. I used to drive my tutor loco with por qué questions. Her answer grew to become a long, exasperated nooooooo sééééééééé.
If you tell people rules of grammar in English, like the plural of man is men, the plural of person is people, the past test of go is went , then some people will just take it as given. Other people will ask - Why isn't the plural of man - mans? Why isn't the plural of person - persons? Why isn't the past tense of go - goed?
You are just one of those people who asks those questions.
BTW, if you are curious, there were two Latin words, populus and persona . In English we merged them together to be single and plural of the same noun (person, people). Obviously we also kept parts of the original meanings in population, popular, and persona.
