Arab and Hebrew contributions to Spanish

Moors and donkeys fighting a bull. (Francisco de Goya, printmaker)

As we move along discovering our Tejano identity it is good to go back to the beginning. Tejanos’ linguistic identity is anchored in Spanish. But, of course, like any other language, Spanish has been influenced by other linguistic forms. The original Spanish, called Vulgar Latin, was a take-off from Classical Latin. With time it acquired its own identity as Castilian Spanish.

In the eighth century, the Moors invaded and occupied the Spanish peninsula and ruled over parts of Spain for almost 800 years. It is not surprising that the Moors contributed many Arabic words to the Spanish language during that time, “along with cultural influences still evident in the design, art, and architecture of Spain.” ¹ 

Next to Latin, the most influential contributor to the Spanish vocabulary in Arabic, with some 8,000-20,000 words in the Spanish language. Here are some common words that have Arabic origin.  

Ojalá	Usted	Hasta	Azúcar
Aceite	Almohada	Barrio	Asesino
Álgebra	alacrán	alberca	alcalde
guitarra	azul	naranja	marrano
chivo	Guadalajara	dado	jabalíne

There are many, many more.²

While the Sephardic Jewish presence in the Monterey area significantly influenced South Texas, the Hebrew language has not contributed as much as Arabic. This, even though the Jews arrived in Spain more than half a century before the arrival of the Moors. However, the Moors had come as conquerors and thus had power and authority and commanded greater attention and respect for their form of communication. The Jews, on the other hand, came as migrants and sought to learn the language of their new home. Indeed, Jews took from Spanish to form a new language called Ladino. 

 "Travesía del judío." Street tile sign of this
alley in Toledo, Spain. ( Daytonarolexboston)

Most of the Hebrew words that entered the Spanish lexicon are given names of individuals or biblical terms. Some Spanish given names derived from Jewish culture include Benjamín, Abel, Abraham, Adán, Ana, Daniel, David, Efrain, Elías, Ezequiel, Isabel, Isaías, Ismael, Israel, Joel, Juan, Lazaro, Maria, and many more. Everyday Spanish words that have a Hebrew origin include aleluya, amén, bato, bruja, camita, comino, chingón, judío, mata, pascua, sábado, satanás, saco, and semita.³

¹ “The History of the Spanish Language,” Lingvist, accessed January 22, 2022, 
    https://lingvist.com/blog/history-of-spanish/,

² “Spanish Grammar Articles and Lessons,” SpanishDict, accessed January 22, 2022, https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/spanish-words-of-arabic-origin.

³ “List of Spanish Words of Semitic Origin,” in Wikipedia, August 22, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Spanish_words_of_Semitic_origin&oldid=1039988904;
“Spanish Words of Semitic Origin,” accessed January 22, 2022, https://www.translationdirectory.com/glossaries/glossary236.php.