Spanish
Noun pluralSpanish, Spanishes
PluralSpanish, Spanishes
- 1Belonging to or characteristic of the country of Spain.
The Spanish coastline attracts millions of tourists each year.
They bought a small Spanish farmhouse near Valencia.
UsageWritten with a capital letter: Spanish food, a Spanish city.
- 2A Romance language spoken in Spain and throughout much of the Americas.
He translated the novel from Spanish into English.
Spanish is the official language of more than twenty countries.
SimilarCastilian
Note
Castilian names the same tongue. W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (1915) has a character urge someone to read it as "a noble tongue," one with grandeur rather than the mellifluousness of Italian.
- 3Relating to or expressed in the Spanish language.
The Spanish translation kept the rhythm of the original poem.
He signed up for a Spanish grammar course this fall.
- 4The people of Spain, taken collectively as a nation.
The Spanish built a vast empire during the sixteenth century.
Historically, the Spanish were skilled navigators and explorers.
UsageUse the Spanish are, the Spanish were. One person from Spain is a Spaniard.
SimilarSpaniards
- 5The traditional cuisine and dishes typical of Spain.
For their anniversary they went out for Spanish near the waterfront.
He cooks Spanish whenever friends come over.
UsageUsed with no article: go out for Spanish, cook Spanish.
Less common meanings
- 6Hispanic people considered as a group; also, an individual who grew up speaking Spanish as a first language.
Older neighbors still call the Mexican families on the east side of town the Spanish.
In his small town, Hispanic families were simply called the Spanish, whatever country they came from.
UsagePrefer Hispanic people for the group and a native Spanish speaker for one person, especially in writing.
Note
Henry Sioux Johnson and William J. Hernández-Martinez's Educating the Mexican American (1970) uses it in statistics set against "Anglos," so it once reached sober print.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Henry Sioux Johnson and William J. Hernández-Martinez were responsible for Educating the Mexican American; institutional records identify them as editors. files.eric.ed.gov
- The book uses Spanish as a noun in statistics comparing Hispanic people with Anglos. en.wiktionary.org
- 7In informal American usage, relating to Hispanic people or their culture.
Many of his classmates came from Spanish families with roots in Central America.
Back then, people in town called the Puerto Rican bakery on the corner the Spanish bakery.
UsageIn writing, Hispanic is the safer word; keep this use for reporting casual speech.
SimilarHispanic, Latino, Latin
Note
It is flagged nonstandard for good reason, because it blurs a line careful writers keep. Lynette Rohrer Shirk keeps that line in 2007 when she sets Spanish cuisine apart from Mexican.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Lynette Rohrer Shirk distinguishes Spanish cuisine from Mexican cuisine. en.wiktionary.org
- 8Money, especially cash or ready funds.
Note
Old British slang for cash in hand, now obsolete. In his comedy Speculation (1795), Frederic Reynolds has one character explain it to another as "ready money, not credit or paper," so even then it was cant that needed glossing. Readers of period drama may meet it. In modern speech it would simply be heard as the language or the nationality.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Spanish was British slang for money. en.wiktionary.org
- Speculation is a comedy by Frederic Reynolds. en.wikipedia.org
- 9A town in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English Spainish or Spanish, formed from Spain combined with the suffix -ish.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Spanish derives from Middle English forms represented as Spainish or Spanish. en.wiktionary.org
- The word is formed from Spain and the suffix -ish. en.wiktionary.org