Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Pacomartin

Thank you very much, but I will have to pass. Spanish language version of Folsom Prison Blues.cc

When it comes to an Hispanic band, cant go wrong with Los Lobos
I'm a huge fan. Seen them live a bunch of times, sometimes in small clubs which is great with their talent
Here's one of my faves, Angel Dance

Hello!

I have made my way from the Wizard of Vegas site to share the word from my junior high school Spanish textbook that I made a point to remember for the rest of my life: limpiaparabrisas.

It means "windshield wipers."

I've kept this word with me for 35 years. It was the wackiest word in the textbook's glossary that I've never forgotten it. I suppose it's pretty easy to remember too—something like "brushes for cleaning"?

Quote: smoothgrh

Hello!

I have made my way from the Wizard of Vegas site to share the word from my junior high school Spanish textbook that I made a point to remember for the rest of my life: limpiaparabrisas.

It means "windshield wipers."

I've kept this word with me for 35 years. It was the wackiest word in the textbook's glossary that I've never forgotten it. I suppose it's pretty easy to remember too—something like "brushes for cleaning"?

Thanks for contributing. This thread could use some new blood to get it going again.

If we break down we get:

limpia = clean (from the verb limpiar)
para = for (don't as me why it's not por)
brisas = breezes

I would normally have translated the whole word as "cleaner for breezes." The word for windshield by itself is parabrisas.

I was going to ask why it's not limpiaparalluvia (cleaner for rain), when I realized English has the same issue. Its a WINDshield not a rainshield. Perhaps in the early days of cars they didn't know what to call them. Thinking the primary purpose was to keep the driver's head protected against the otherwise air the head would be impacting, not the rain. However, this problem exists in no wind. So I suggest the word is a misnomer in both English and Spanish.

Thoughts?

Quote: Wizard

Its a WINDshield not a rainshield. Perhaps in the early days of cars they didn't know what to call them. Thinking the primary purpose was to keep the driver's head protected against the otherwise air the head would be impacting, not the rain. However, this problem exists in no wind. So I suggest the word is a misnomer in both English and Spanish.

Thoughts?

In American English the word windshield goes back to 1902, which is three years earlier than the British windscreen. As the Model T was not developed until 1908, I would suggest that the whole idea of having any sort of glass to protect you from wind was pretty novel.

Detailed research by recalling a movie from when I was a kid, indicates that early automobile drivers wore goggles.


So windshield wipers referred to the fact that they wiped a relatively new invention of a windshield. It does not mean they were wiping away wind.


I think this photo is from the 1890s.

Quote: Wizard

para = for (don't as me why it's not por)

I never could get this correct, but these are the classes of meanings for the word por and para.

In English we use the preposition "for" which is not Latin based but from Old English where it meant "before, in the sight of, in the presence of; as far as; during, before; on account of, for the sake of; in place of, instead of".

Por
1. Travel and Communication
2. Exchanges
3. Duration
4. Motivation

Para
1. Destinations
2. Recipients
3. Deadlines
4. Goals


As always the basic meanings of OId English words are different from Latin words, and there is always difficulty in translating.

In Old French por meant
for (in order to)
for (belonging to)

In Spanish para means
for (for the purpose of)
to

I suppose this final definition is the most appropriate since it "for the purpose of" cleaning the glass.



garra is a claw or hook or talon.
escobilla is a "little brush"

Thanks folks for the elucidation of "limpiaparabrisas."

I had never taken the time to learn what "brisas" actually means. That it means "breeze" is a fun translation!

Recently I heard that while the U.S. term is "windshield," the UK term is "windscreen." It's like the George Carlin routine about baseball and football: in football, you penetrate the defense and enter enemy territory—in baseball, you run home to be safe!

Quote: by Tony on August 20, 2012 in DeDona Auto Glass

A Brief History of the Windshield

Over the years, windshields have been updated and completely transformed to enhance the safety of motor vehicles. Windshields now serve a structural purpose for vehicles as a whole, rather than just a simple shield from wind and a bit of debris. It might surprise you that in the 19th century drivers actually wore goggles as protection. This may seem like an absurd fashion statement today, but it was vitally important back then. Here is a more in depth history of our beloved windshield.

Gas powered automobiles were first produced in the 1890s. Roughly 14 years later, the first windshield was invented. This was nearly a decade with no protection whatsoever. These windshields were made of two-pieced plate glass. When one layer became too dirty, the driver could peal it down. The danger of this glass was quickly realized.

Windshield wipers made their first appearance in 1916. They were not automatic as they are today. Instead the driver used a crank to move the wipers from side to side. These wipers were called “Folberths”. Electric wipers did not surface until the 1920s. Alternating powered windshield wipers were developed in the 1960s.

In 1919, Henry Ford began employing the windshield technology of the French scientist Eduoard Benedictus. A cellulose layer separated two layers of plate glass. This layer held the plate glass together on impact. Simply put, it prevented the windshield from shattering into pieces in the case of an accident or an object hitting the windshield. The only drawback to this windshield was that the cellulose became discolored over time.

The year 1934 marked the birth of the curved windshield, which decreased drag and improved aerodynamics. About 15 years later, tempered glass was used on side and rear windows. These windows could withstand terrific blows. If the glass were to break, it would disintegrate into soft beads. This type of glass was not used on the windshields however.

My favorite Spanish word when I was a kid was "ferrocarril" because it had two double rr consonants.

Quote: smoothgrh

Thanks folks for the elucidation of "limpiaparabrisas."

You're welcome. Most of the credit goes to Paco, as usual. I hope you'll stick around and maybe we can awaken this thread. Tomorrow I'll post a fresh SWD. It has been awhile.

The 25 Most Frequently Used Verbs in English are:

1 Be
2 Have
3 Do
4 Say
5 Get
6 Make
7 Go
8 Know
9 Take
10 See
11 Come
12 Think
13 Look
14 Want
15 Give
16 Use
17 Find
18 Tell
19 Ask
20 Work
21 Seem
22 Feel
23 Try
24 Leave
25 Call

Fully 20 of these 25 verbs are based on Old English words and three more entered English from Old Norse in the early medieval period. Only two verbs came from Old French.

I think well over half the time that we use a verb we are using some variation of these 25 verbs.

The two verbs that come from Old French have an etymology traceable back to Latin, so you would think the Spanish equivalent would be similar. But in English we have often added multiple meanings to the verb since we acquired it from the French.

For instance "to try" came into English around the year 1300.
It means "examine judiciously, discover by evaluation, test;" mid-14c., "sit in judgment of," also "attempt to do," from Anglo-French trier (13c.), from Old French trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (the good) by examination." Sense of "subject to some strain" (of patience, endurance, etc.) is recorded from 1530s. To try on "test the fit of a garment" is from 1690s; to try (something) on for size in the figurative sense is recorded by 1946.

When you go to the dictionary, here are just some of the ways to express "try" in Spanish:

Intentar - to attempt
Probar - to test, to taste
Ver - to try a law
Juzgar - to try a person in court
Probarse - to try on
Poner a prueba - to test a person or your patience
Medirse -- to measure, to try on
Experimentar -- to try by experimentation
Tentar - to examine by touch
Purificar - to purify a metal
Tratar -- to treat, to handle
Procurar -- to adopt measures for obtaining, to try

Of the 25 verbs only "to use" in English and "usar" in Spanish have nearly identical meanings.

The Old English words that meant "to use" were notian, nēotan, nyttian and brūcan. They have vanished from common speech and exist only in high level poetry.

Quote: Wizard

I hope you'll stick around and maybe we can awaken this thread. Tomorrow I'll post a fresh SWD. It has been awhile.

I thought I'd give this a bump.

inútil

The most literal translation is "without utility", just as the English word insane means "without sanity".


The Inútil Bay was thus named in 1827 by Captain Phillip Parker King, because it afforded "neither anchorage nor shelter, nor any other advantage for the navigator".

The word can also mean "hopeless".



In the image below it seems to mean "pointless" in the sense of mindless preoccupations.


It can also be quite an insulting word. Good for politicians or people you dislike. The phrase "inútil culo" means "worthless ass".