Spanish Word of the Day

The word "columna" is a cognate of English "column" but seems to be used first in the anatomical sense and second in the architectural sense.
The word "columnata" is more like a collonade
There is a verb form of the noun that means "to swing".

Quote: Wizard

Gilligan cayó del columpio = Gilligan fell off the swing.

"Gilligan SE cayó del columpio."

Quote: Nareed

"Gilligan SE cayó del columpio."

You have me terrified of every saying se. Whenever I do I always seem to get it wrong. I considered using it this time but thought you would back with "Gilligan made himself fall of the swing."

Quote: Wizard

You have me terrified of every saying se.

The worst thing I'll say is "you're wrong."

Anyway, I dind't make up the language. i just dislike speaking it.

Quote: Nareed

The worst thing I'll say is "you're wrong."

You say much worse than that with your English translations of my Spanish translations.

Quote: Wizard

You say much worse than that with your English translations of my Spanish translations.

Oh, that's for entertainment value, plus it helps you see how it sounds. This is essential to comprehend a mistake. And did I mention it is entertaining?

There are many major differences between English and Spanish grammar (menaing how the languages contruct sentences, use pronouns, etc). Innevitably you will stumble. As I've adviced before, you have to practice. I found watching TV and movies in english, and reading books and magazines, invaluable in attaining fluency. I know my turn of phrase gets odd sometimes (sometimes???!!), and sometimes I find I don't know a word or two. But I've been gettign along perfectly well every time I travel to the US since 1983 (and to England and Israel as well).

Quote: Nareed

I know my turn of phrase gets odd sometimes ...

Wiktionary
turn of phrase = (idiomatic) An expression which is worded in a distinctive way, especially one which is particularly memorable or artful.

Give me a break. You know English better than I do, and it's my native language. I had to look up "turn of phrase"

Fecha: 12-11-13
Palabra: dehesa

Today's SWD means meadow. "I thought we already had two words for meadow -- vega y prada, you might add." I'll leave it to the advanced readers to explain if and how dehesa differs from the other two.

Ejemplo time.

Sr. Baker is el mejor médico en la dehesa. = Mr. Baker is best doctor on the prairie.

The word dehesa is a cognate of the English word defense, so it must have implied a defensible meadow.
The word prada is directly from a Latin word that also meant meadow.
The word vega is from Basque. The Basque language has it's roots in a language group that predates the Indo-European languages and the Neolithic period (last 12000 years).

In the past any word in Spanish that comes from Basque or Galician is not a word that Nareed likes to use.

I'd never come across that word, dehesa, before. It sounds so weird, in fact, that I was certain mike had stumbled again ;) I had to look it up in the dictionary. So now I'm guessing you got it from a translator who likes to display arcane erudition or who owns a thorough thesaurus.