Spanish Word of the Day

There is no word cavar, but there is "cave", "cavity" and "concave".

Nareed will have to contrast the definitions of excavar and cavar, as they seem almost the same to me. Both of them seem to mean "to dig". The latter might be used more for "penetration" than the former, but seemingly without any vulgar connotations.

English seems to have taken a number of words from Latin with the prefix, but either ignored the root word, or rarely uses it. The British comedy "In the Loop" at one point ponders the words "inevitable" and "evitable". It turns out "evitable" is really an English word, but I have never heard it used.

In Spanish the definitions of the words are:
inevitable = "Que no se puede evitar"
evitable = "Que se puede o debe evitar"
evitar ="Apartar algún daño, peligro o molestia, impidiendo que suceda"

I recommend "In the Loop" highly if you are in the mood for political comedy, but just be aware that the language is vulgar. Don't watch it with your grandmother. Also a good movie if you miss James Gandolfini.

Quote: Pacomartin

It turns out "evitable" is really an English word, but I have never heard it used.

I'm too tired to go into a full answer right now (LOTS of work). But if you'd read Asimov, you'd have run into his very minor story "The Evitable Conflict." Not that I'd recommend looking it up.

Quote: Wizard

The assignment for the advanced readers is to compare and contrast cavar y excavar.

There's no difference as far as I know.

Quote:

Gilligan excava para tesoro enterrado. = Gilligan is digging for buried treasure.

Ok, that's gibberish. I don't mean it's worng, but that it's literally without meaning. Some English terms ahve no direct, one-word or short phrase Spanish equivalent. In this case you mean Gilligan is out somwhere with digging tools looking for treasure and digging here and there, or possibly digging at a single palce where he thinks he'll find a treasure.

The buried treasure is a cliche in Spanish, too, but digging for it is not. So you'd ahve to decide on a meaning in the original and then translate that into Spanish.

Gilligan estaba excavar para tesoro enterrado.

Quote: Nareed

The buried treasure is a cliche in Spanish, too, but digging for it is not. So you'd ahve to decide on a meaning in the original and then translate that into Spanish.

Look for the Hidden Treasure
Put on your helmet and take a shovel.
Dance to get started digging.
Find the 4 treasures
Tip: try digging in different places

Quote: Nareed

Ok, that's gibberish. I don't mean it's worng, but that it's literally without meaning. Some English terms ahve no direct, one-word or short phrase Spanish equivalent. In this case you mean Gilligan is out somwhere with digging tools looking for treasure and digging here and there, or possibly digging at a single palce where he thinks he'll find a treasure.

That is what I was trying to say. I never intended to specify exactly where he was digging or if it was in multiple spots.

Quote: Wizard

That is what I was trying to say.

Nareed, I didn't get your point either. Can you explain again. I see many references on the web to "tesoros escondido". Are you saying that Spanish speaker don't immediately think of hiding treasure by burying it. Do they imagine it in caves or hidden rooms? Is it hidden treasure in the figurative sense?


I have read that the association with buried treasure comes largely from the novel "Treasure Island", so it is possible that it is an archetype in the English speaking world.

Quote: Pacomartin

Nareed, I didn't get your point either. Can you explain again. I see many references on the web to "tesoros escondido". Are you saying that Spanish speaker don't immediately think of hiding treasure by burying it. Do they imagine it in caves or hidden rooms? Is it hidden treasure in the figurative sense?

Oh, every child knows about the pirate map with a big X that marks the spot, and that's where you dig.

But in Spanish you don't dig for anything, not even treasure. In that case, you look for it. Some idioms can't be precisely translated.

Fecha: 26-10-13
Palabra: Veleta

Today's SWD means weather vane.

The question for the advanced readers is to find or deny a common prefix with vela.

Ejemplo time.

La velata dice que el viento sopla del oeste. = The weather vane says the wind is blowing from the west.

Quote: Wizard

The question for the advanced readers is to find or deny a common prefix with vela.

Yes, they are related. But I don't think a weathervane is a "little candle". The word "vela" also means vigil or watch. I think that a weather vane is a little watch tower. But I emphasize that I am making a guess.

Quote: Wizard

La velata dice que el viento sopla del oeste. = The weather vane says the wind is blowing from the west.

Although it is in widespread usage in English to say "the sign says ..." many people feel that it is better to say "the sign reads..",, or "the weather vane indicates...".

I believe that a native Spanish speaker is more likely to use the verb "indica" instead of the verb "dice".

Quote: Pacomartin

Although it is in widespread usage in English to say "the sign says ..." many people feel that it is better to say "the sign reads..",, or "the weather vane indicates...".

I believe that a native Spanish speaker is more likely to use the verb "indica" instead of the verb "dice".

IN the case of a sign, in Spanish one would most likely use the expression "¿Que dice el letrero?" But in the case of a weather vane, since there are no words on it, the phrase would be "la veleta indica..."