Spanish Word of the Day

It's a little complicated
παρένθεσις is the ancestor of paréntesis (Sp) and paranthesis (En), but neither of them is related to the word "parent".

para- "beside" (para + en- "in" + tithenai "put, place,"). Sense extension by 1715 from the inserted words to the curved brackets that indicate the words inserted.

The Latin verb pariō (“I bring forth, I give birth to, I produce”) is the ancestor of parent in English.

The English word parent and the Spanish word pariente are cognates because they both come from the same Latin word, but they are also "false friends" becasue they do not mean the same thing. The Spanish word means relative or relation (member of one's family).
The Spanish word for parent is padre.

Quote: Wizard

Today's SWD means parenthesis or an interruption.

Quote:

Mary Ann tomó un paréntesis de fregando la ropa. = Mary Ann took a break from washing the laundry.

This is really wrong. Per your definition, Mary Anne took an interruption. So:

If you want to say Mary Ann took a break, then it would be "Mary Ann tomó un descanso..." And I wont even go into the rest of the sentence. Ask your tutor to explain.

Concerning similar sounding words in different languages, you need to take into account the general derivation of each langauge. English is a Germanic language, heavily mixed with Celtic and Gaelic grammar, Latin and French vocabulary and some other influences. Spanish is a Romance language developed in a region occupied by Germanic peoples, with plenty of influences its speakers won't even admit to.

Quote: Nareed

English is a Germanic language, heavily mixed with Celtic and Gaelic grammar, Latin and French vocabulary and some other influences. Spanish is a Romance language developed in a region occupied by Germanic peoples, with plenty of influences its speakers won't even admit to.

Naturally, Celtic and Gaelic vocabulary crept into English, but I never heard that it had much influence on grammar.
Wikipedia has a list of Spanish words of Germanic origin, but once again I think there was very little influence on grammar.

I was going to say that "fregar" means "to scrub" while "lavar" means "to wash", but according to the DRAE there are possible vulgar meanings as well.

fregar (Del lat. fricāre, frotar, restregar).
1. tr. Restregar con fuerza una cosa con otra.
2. tr. Limpiar algo restregándolo con un estropajo, un cepillo, etc., empapado en agua y jabón u otro líquido adecuado.
3. tr. coloq. Am. Fastidiar, molestar, jorobar. U. t. c. prnl.
4. tr. vulg. C. Rica, Hond., Méx. y Ven. Causar daño o perjuicio a alguien.

Quote: Pacomartin

Naturally, Celtic and Gaelic vocabulary crept into English, but I never heard that it had much influence on grammar.
Wikipedia has a list of Spanish words of Germanic origin, but once again I think there was very little influence on grammar.

In all the world, only three language families have a meaningless "do" as an essential component in their grammar. English is one, the other two are Celtic and Gaelic. It surppasses credibility to suppose English did not adapt or absorb that quirk from two language families the proto-Germanic Anglo-Saxons settlers had right there at hand. All this according to Linguistics professor McWorther in his book about the hsitory of English "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue."

Quote:

I was going to say that "fregar" means "to scrub" while "lavar" means "to wash", but according to the DRAE there are possible vulgar meanings as well.

Fregar is applies to laundry when a washing board is used. In fact, washboards in Mexico are built-in into concrete basins in the laundry room. The thing is called a "fregadero." Even so, by usage most people would say "lavar la ropa" in connection with any form of laundry or dry cleaning (the latter is "lavado en seco" and takes palce at a "tintoreria")

Good answer on the "meaningless do".

Would you call both of these sinks a fregadero? Normally, I think of "scrub sink" as a more heavy duty use, or for pots and pans, or in a restaurant. The simpler sinks in kitchens are usually just called "sinks" but they are often not good for large or dirty pots.

Quote: Pacomartin

Good answer on the "meaningless do".

Prof. McWorther will be very glad to hear that ;) he spends , oh, maybe 1/4 of the time in that section bashing his academic rivals about the origins of meaningless terms used in English

Quote:

Would you call both of these sinks a fregadero? Normally, I think of "scrub sink" as a more heavy duty use, or for pots and pans, or in a restaurant. The simpler sinks in kitchens are usually just called "sinks" but they are often not good for large or dirty pots.

A sink is usually called "lavabo," but it can be called "lavadero" as well. This applies both to kitchen and bathroom sinks. I don't think many people call it "fregadero"

Both urls have "Fregadero" in them, and one is from Spain and the other from Mexico

http://img.archiexpo.es/images_ae/photo-g/fregadero-ceramica-2-senos-3570-4332405.jpg
http://safe-img04.olx.com.mx/ui/11/01/20/1313686350_171770120_1-Fotos-de--Fregadero-Para-Bar-Dos-Tarjas.jpg

Quote: Nareed

If you want to say Mary Ann took a break, then it would be "Mary Ann tomó un descanso..." And I wont even go into the rest of the sentence. Ask your tutor to explain.

I don't really have a tutor. The teacher from Argentina is busy teaching at UNLV, and I have to go through a game of 20 questions whenever I leave the house, so I'm stuck teaching the language to myself. Lacking any other options, I turned to google translate, which said, Mary ann tomó un descanso de lavar la ropa.

Regarding fregar, I've seen that verb used for washing clothes, even in a washing machine, lots of times. I'm pretty sure Lupe calls my washing machine a fregadrero, but will confirm tomorrow.

Regarding the meaningless do, can someone give me an example?

Quote: Wizard

Regarding the meaningless do, can someone give me an example?

The "meaningless do" has a similar position in the language as the "weather it", as in "It is raining". They are placeholders in the sentence, but you can't normally put any other word in their place. Normally if we say "Hit it", the pronoun "it" can be replaced with a noun as in "Hit the ball".

Quote: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

by John McWhorter
For example, in modern English we might phrase a question as

Do we derive any language features from Celtic?

But in every other language which touches English, the question invariably becomes something like:

Derive we any language features from Celtic?

Note that this latter form is grammatically correct English as well, although it sounds old-fashioned, like something out of Shakespeare or a bad actor from Medieval Times.

I am not sure if "How do you do?" is an example of a "meaningless do".

"I’ll have to do my hair before we go out." Is not called a "meaningless do", but is referred to as a "delexical verb". In this case the verb "do" has no particular meaning because it is a substitute for the verbs "shampoo" or "brush" or "comb" or all of the above. In context the action is understood by the listener, so the verb "do" is a substitute.

Quote: Wizard

Regarding fregar, I've seen that verb used for washing clothes, even in a washing machine, lots of times. I'm pretty sure Lupe calls my washing machine a fregadrero, but will confirm tomorrow.

It is fregadero in this advertisement. Possibly the word is regional if Nareed doesn't use it routinely.

I thought the word for sink was lavabo, and a fregadero was something specifically for washing clothes. I suppose if the sink was specifically for that purpose you could call it that.