Latin roots of Spanish words
April 30, 2013 10:50 PM Subscribe
What's a good resource for looking up the Latin roots of Spanish words? (There are a number of fantastic resources for finding the Latin roots of English words, but I'm having a harder time with Spanish words.)
I'm obviously curious about this in general, but if no such resources are freely and readily available, could someone tell me what the Latin root of "marido" is?
I'm obviously curious about this in general, but if no such resources are freely and readily available, could someone tell me what the Latin root of "marido" is?
The RAE (http://www.rae.es/rae.html) is good- the etymologies are usually transparent even if you have very little knowledge of Spanish.
posted by GDWJRG at 11:33 PM on April 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by GDWJRG at 11:33 PM on April 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Etimology of "marido" (husband) in Spanish
Apparently it could come from the latin maris, which means male; or it could come from
mari (young woman) + -to (given) = A person who has been given a woman, or is linked to a woman.
posted by Tarumba at 6:04 AM on May 1, 2013
Apparently it could come from the latin maris, which means male; or it could come from
mari (young woman) + -to (given) = A person who has been given a woman, or is linked to a woman.
posted by Tarumba at 6:04 AM on May 1, 2013
Seconding the RAE. If the etymology is well-established (and for the Latin-derived words, it usually is), you'll find it there. One neat trick is that you can entry "rae.es/word" in the browser address bar and it'll take you directly to the word's entry in the dictionary.
(If you want to play this game on expert mode you could always pick up a copy of something like Penny's A History of the Spanish Language; once you know the sound change rules--and they are remarkably consistent for most of the Spanish lexicon--you can usually figure out what the Latin form would be without even having to look it up. :) )
posted by Kosh at 6:09 AM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
(If you want to play this game on expert mode you could always pick up a copy of something like Penny's A History of the Spanish Language; once you know the sound change rules--and they are remarkably consistent for most of the Spanish lexicon--you can usually figure out what the Latin form would be without even having to look it up. :) )
posted by Kosh at 6:09 AM on May 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by empath at 11:28 PM on April 30, 2013