Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Nareed

Take another word, "terrific." It would seem to mean something like "frightening." It doesn't.

Terrific meant "frightening" in English for centuries. About 200 years ago it was downgraded in intensity to mean "very great" so that people began to talk about a "terrific headache". About 120 years ago it was documented to mean "excellent" .

That is an excellent example of a word whose meaning has strayed from it's root.

The prefix in- can be awkward because it really has three meanings. It means "not", it can be an intensifier, and it can mean "into".

I'm not sure whether I've told this story before. It's about not using literal word-for-word translations. A friend of mine in highschool took after-school English lessons in a private institute. According to him, this si what a classmate of his wrote down to translate into English a simple sentence:

Between, no more, and drink the chair.

Can you figure out the Spanish original?

Quote: Nareed

Between, no more, and drink the chair. Can you figure out the Spanish original?

Entre, no más, y tomar la silla.

Enter, no more {talking}, and take a chair.

Fecha: 16-1-13
Palabra: Lechuza

Until recently I thought the only word for owl was búho. However, owls play a promintent role in Harry Potter y la pierdra filosofal, which I was reading two weeks ago in Mexico. The word they consistently use is lechuza. So, besides the "hot dog" question, I annoyed several people with the difference between a búho y lechuza. I don't think I ever got the same answer twice. Some said it depended on the color, some the size, and some didn't think that one or the other was an owl. Lupe, for example, says a lechuza is white, and all other color owls are búhos.

Here is what Nareed's dictionary says.

Búho: Ave cazadora nocturma, de ojos grandes y pico en form de gancho.

Lechuza: Ave rapaz (bird of prey) noctura, de cabeza redonda y ojos grandes, que se alimenta de roedores y otors animales.

The lechuza seems a more specific description of an owl. Búho seems more general, like they don't have to eat small animals, or have the round head, but I can't think of any other birds that would fit this description besides owls. Then again, birds are not exactly my strong suit.

Quote: Pacomartin

Enter, no more {talking}, and take a chair.

"Please come in and have a seat."

The original: "Entre, no más, y tome asiento."

Quote: Wizard

Búho: Ave cazadora nocturma, de ojos grandes y pico en form de gancho. Lechuza: Ave rapaz (bird of prey) noctura, de cabeza redonda y ojos grandes, que se alimenta de roedores y otors animales.

The RAE definition for lechuza is very specific.

Ave rapaz nocturna, de unos 35 cm de longitud desde lo alto de la cabeza hasta la extremidad de la cola, y aproximadamente el doble de envergadura, con plumaje muy suave, amarillento, pintado de blanco, gris y negro en las partes superiores, blanco de nieve en el pecho, vientre, patas y cara; cabeza redonda, pico corto y encorvado en la punta, ojos grandes, brillantes y de iris amarillo, cara circular, cola ancha y corta y uñas negras. Es frecuente en España, resopla con fuerza cuando está parada, y da un graznido estridente y lúgubre cuando vuela. Se alimenta ordinariamente de insectos y de pequeños mamíferos roedores.

The RAE definition for búho is:
Ave rapaz nocturna, indígena de España, de unos 40 cm de altura, de color mezclado de rojo y negro, calzada de plumas, con el pico corvo, los ojos grandes y colocados en la parte anterior de la cabeza, sobre la cual tiene unas plumas alzadas que figuran orejas.

Try "tecolote."

Quote: Nareed

Try "tecolote."

Yes, I saw the dictionary mentioned it as a synonym, but I never saw the word before. The dictionary seems to say it is the same as a búho.

Quote: Wizard

The dictionary seems to say it is the same as a búho.

It seems that if you really want to talk about specific categories of owls you use a second word. I have found this question on other forums, and it seems as if other people find the categories confusing as well. But Tecolote is decidedly an Aztec word whereas búho is from Latin. The word "lechuza" is listed as an unknown etymology, but it is tantalizingly similar to "leche" which makes it seem like white owls.

búho chico (Asio otus) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes. Mide 36 cm. de long. Posee largas "orejas". La parte superior del cuerpo es de color ocre y pardo grisáceo, la inferior es ocre listada de oscuro. Caza de noche, sobre todo ratones. Vive en los bosques de coníferas. D.: Europa, Asia central, norte de Africa y Norteamerica.

Búho nival (Nyctea scandica) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes. Mide hasta 66 cm de long. Su plumaje es completamente blanco con algunas manchas oscuras. Tiene costumbres solitarias y diurnas. Se alimenta de aves y mamíferos. Nidifica en el suelo. D.: región árctica.

Búho real (Bubo bubo) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes. Mide hasta 70 cm. de long., es el mayor búho de Europa. La parte superior del cuerpo es de color leonado con motas oscuras, la inferior es más clara; los ojos son de color naranja. Las "orejas" son grandes. Caza al amanecer y al atardecer; se alimenta de roedores y grandes presas (liebres, aves ...), nidifica entre rocas y en árboles. En la actualidad (1980) su supervivencia está en peligro. D.: Eurasia y norte de Africa

lechuza campestre (Asio flammeus) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes. Mide 38 cm de long. El plumaje es de color leonado claro con la parte inferior listada. Se alimenta sobre todo de ratones. D.: cosmopolita

lechuza común (Tito alba) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes.
Mide 34 cm de long. Posee un bello plumaje de color dorado claro con pequeñas manchas en la parte superior, la cara y la parte inferior del cuerpo son blancas. El disco facial tiene forma de corazón. Las patas presentan plumas hasta los dedos. Los ojos son de color negro. Caza, generalmente, de noche, sobre todo roedores. Tiene costumbres sedentarias y prefiere los sitios habitados. D.: cosmopolita

lechuza de las madrigueras V. curuja

lechuza gavilana (Surnia ulula) Cl.: aves. O.: estrigiformes. Mide hasta 40 cm de long. Tiene el plumaje de color pardo oscuro con manchas blancas en el dorso; la parte ventral es blanca con líneas oscuras; la cara es también blanca bordeada de negro. Presenta costumbres diurnas. Se denomina así porque en vuelo se parece al gavilán. Vive en bosques de coníferas o abedules. D.: Eurasia septentrional y Norteamérica

Just to confuse things more, I found other Spanish words for owls.

A "Barred Owl" in English and "Cárabo de franjas" in Spanish (means "tawny fringe")

A "Great Gray owl" is called a "Cárabo lapón" in Spanish

An "elf owl" which is the size of a sparrow is called by three different names in Spanish: Mochuelo de los saguaros, Mochuelo duende, Tecolotito enano

A "Spectacled owl" is called a "Lechuzón de anteojos" in Spanish