Spanish Words of Basque Origin

Quick Answer

In this article, we’ll discuss Spanish words of Basque origin, such as chatarra(junk) and Donosti(San Sebastian).

Questions This Article Answers

What are some Spanish words that come from País Vasco?

Is euskara related to other languages?

What is the origin of the word izquierda in Spanish?

Donostia beach

Basque Language and Its Relation to Spanish

The Spanish País Vasco(Basque Country), or Euskadi, officially includes the Spanish provinces of Araba/Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa.

To refer to the Basque-speaking regions of both Spain and France together, the term Euskal Herria may be used.

In spite of its geographical location, the Basque language isn’t related to español(Spanish) or francés(French). In fact, euskera(Basque) is a language isolate, a language unrelated to any other human languages. Basque has coexisted with castellano(Castilian, Spanish) in the Península Ibérica(Iberian Peninsula) for centuries. Both languages have influenced one another considerably.

There are three terms used to refer to the Basque language: euskera, vasco, and vascuence.

Donostia old town

Adaptations, Calques, and Loanwords

A linguistic adaptación(adaptation) is a word or phrase taken from another language but adapted to the target language for phonologic, lexical, or syntactic reasons. For example, breeze is an adaptation of the Spanish word brisa.

A calco(calque) is a word or phrase translated literally into another language. For example, roadrunner is a calque of the Spanish word correcaminos (correr: to run + caminos: roads).

A préstamo lingüístico(loanword) is a word or phrase taken from another language and used in its original form. For example, patio is a loanword taken from Spanish.

Spanish Words of Basque Origin

The following words are vasquismos(words of Basque origin adapted to Spanish).

Basque	Spanish	English
akelarre	aquelarre	coven
bakailao	bacalao	cod
euskaldun	euscaldún, euskaldún	Basque
gantzua	ganzúa	picklock, lockpick, skeleton key
guiristino	guiri	foreigner
hor dago	órdago	all-or-nothing bet
izkerra	izquierdo, izquierda	left
kabarra	gabarra	barge
kalimotxo	calimocho	red wine and cola
kokotxa	cococha	cheek
lurte	alud	landslide
motxil	mochila	backpack
txabola	chabola	shack
txakolin	chacolí	chacoli
txaparro	chaparro	short
txapela	chapela	beret
txatarra	chatarra	junk
txirla	chirla	small clam
zirimiri	sirimiri	drizzle

Look at the following examples:

examples
¿Cómo vas a cocinar el bacalao? How are you going to cook the cod?
Abrió la puerta con una ganzúa. She opened the door using a picklock.
Compré esta chapela roja en Pamplona. I bought this red beret in Pamplona.

Guggenheim museum

Basque Loanwords in Spanish

The following list shows Basque préstamos lingüísticos(loanwords) used in Spanish.

agur	bye
aizkolari	aizkolari (wood-chopping athlete)
Donosti	San Sebastian
donostiarra	from San Sebastian
euskera	Basque (language)
gamarra	martingale
ikurriña	Basque national flag
marmitako	Basque stew
pelotari	pelota player
zamarra	sheepskin coat

Here are some examples containing Basque loanwords.

examples
Los soldados izaron la ikurriña. The soldiers raised the Basque national flag.
Nos vemos mañana - ¡Agur! See you tomorrow. - Bye!
Mi abuela habla castellano y euskera. My grandmother speaks Spanish and Basque.