Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Wizard

I think I've heard the Chevy "no va" story so many times that I went with va on instinct.

You do know that the Chevy Nova story is not true. It is still taught in countless classes in school.

The word may often translate as "wand", but I am not sure if a connecting rod in an engine translates to the same word



In old Texas the word was borrowed from Spanish and used to denote a standard measurement of 3 vara's = 100".

Quote: Pacomartin

You do know that the Chevy Nova story is not true. It is still taught in countless classes in school.

There are many such stories spread about, in schools and elsewhere, which may not be true but seem to be. Consider the add for a laundry detergent in an unnamed Arab country. The add had three panels. It showed dirty clothes on the left, the clothes being washed on the center, and clean clothes on the right. In Arabic, people read from right to left. So the order of this panel indicated taking clean clothes and putting them in the detergent would amke them dirty. Or so the story goes.

There are several versions of what Coca-Cola had to do in China, as the combination of syllables came out as meaning something in Chinese.

Things like this seem true, meaning they make sense, but may not be.

As for outright falsehoods, I do recall being taught in elementary school that the Moon's phases are caused by the Earth's shadow <roll-eyes>.

Quote:

The word may often translate as "wand", but I am not sure if a connecting rod in an engine translates to the same word

"Vara" by itself is a piece of wood. "Vara mágica," or "varita mágica" means "magic wand." BTW, a symphony conductor's implement (I woudln't call it an instrument) is called "Batuta" in Spanish.

Quote: Pacomartin

The word may often translate as "wand",

In the Harry Potter books they use varita for a (magic) wand. I also got vara from Harry Potter, in the sense of a rod they would spank bad kids with in school.

I am not sure what they would call this piece of an engine in Spanish. We call it a "rod" in English, but there is no particular reason to call it a "vara" in Spanish.

The word biela is translated as "piston rod" and "connecting rod" in various places. I cannot find a reference to the word "vara" in the context of a car part. It may be true, but I cannot find a reference.

Rolly@rollybrook.com put together the following list from his home in Durango.
The Gasoline Engine
aceite oil
anillo piston ring
arbol de levas crank shaft
balancín rocker arm
banda de tiempo timing belt
biela piston rod
bloque del motor engine block
bujía spark plug
buso hydraulic valve lifter
cámara de combustión combustion chamber
camisas del pistón piston skirt
cárter oil pan
cigüeñal crankshaft
colector de admisión intake manifold
diafragma vacuum diaphragm
empaque gasket
empaque de tapadera de válvulas valve cover gasket
inyector fuel injector
junta gasket
-- de la cabeza head gasket
-- del cárter oil pan gasket
motor motor
pistón piston
polea pulley
resorte de válvula valve spring
retén O ring
sello gasket
tapa de la cabeza head cover
tapa de pistón valve cover
tapadera de válvulas valve cover
tapón del aceite oil drain plug
válvula valve
válvula de admisión inlet valve
válvula de escape exhaust manifold
volante flywheel

Here is a group of words in English and Spanish that use a prefix to mean the opposite action of the root word. Note that English sometimes draws from different prefixes, while Spanish is more consistent,


desconectar disconnect
desconcertar disconcert
desacreditar discredit
desorganizar disorganize
desaparecer disappear
desposeer dispossess
desapasionadamente dispassionately
desarmar disarm
descalificar disqualify
desconfiar distrust
desautorizar disavow
desagradar displease
desengaño disillusion
desanimar discourage
desalentarse discouraged
desecho discard
descartar discard

descentralizar decentralize
descomponer decompose
descifrar decipher
desclasificar declassify
desestabilizar destabilize
descontrol decontrol
desactivar deactivate
deshumanizar dehumanize

desmarcar uncheck
desenmascarar unmask
destrabar unlock
desabrochar undo
deshacer undo
desacoplar uncouple
deshecho undone
desequilibrar unbalance

descabezar behead

The Spanish word of the day is desayunar.
For someone besides Nareed, what does the word ayunar mean in English?

Quote: Pacomartin

The Spanish word of the day is desayunar.
For someone besides Nareed, what does the word ayunar mean in English?

Can I throw out a hint?

Quote: Nareed

Can I throw out a hint?

Sure you can (if anyone is playing). The Spanish word ayunar is actually related to the English word jejune, but that's not much help since the word is hardly ever used. The words are related, but they are not synonyms.

Quote: Pacomartin

Sure you can (if anyone is playing). The Spanish word ayunar is actually related to the English word jejune, but that's not much help since the word is hardly ever used. The words are related, but they are not synonyms

Actually I was going to say that there is a 100% literal Spanish translation for the morning meal in English. And vice versa.

Quote: Nareed

Actually I was going to say that there is a 100% literal Spanish translation for the morning meal in English. And vice versa.

That's a good hint. Let's see if anyone else reads this thread.

Quote: Pacomartin

The Spanish word of the day is desayunar.
For someone besides Nareed, what does the word ayunar mean in English?

I don't know. Can I have that hint?

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. It has been hectic lately. I should get back to normal in about a week.