See Also: Spanish fly(medicine)
spanish(medicine)
Spanish(dictionary)
PEONIA, Spanish law(law)
Spanish Churros(recipes)
CORREGIDOR, Spanish law(law)
Spanish Bay Beach(tourism)
Spanish-American War, the(dictionary)
Spanish Steps(dictionary)
Spanish Main(dictionary)

Spanish (iou)



Spanish adjective, noun, & adverb. ME.
[from Spain (see below) + -ISH1, with later shortening of 1st elem.]
A. adjective.
Of or pertaining to Spain, a country in SW Europe occupying the greater part of the Iberian peninsula, or its inhabitants; native to or originating in Spain; associated with or characteristic of Spain or Spaniards. Also, of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Spanish America or its inhabitants. ME.
old Spanish custom, old Spanish practice joc. a long-standing though unauthorized or irregular practice.
Of or pertaining to Spanish. LME.
Special collocations: Spanish America those parts of Central and S. America, the W. Indies, and sometimes more widely the south-western US, which were colonized by Spain. Spanish American a native or inhabitant of Spanish America; a Spanish-American person. Spanish-American adjective of or pertaining to Spanish America; of or belonging to both Spain and America. Spanish Armada Hist. the Spanish war fleet sent against England in 1588. Spanish bayonet any of several yuccas, so called from the sharp rigid leaves; esp. Yucca aloifolia, of south-western N. America. Spanish beard US = Spanish moss below. Spanish bluebell a freq. cultivated bluebell of the Iberian peninsula, Hyacinthoides hispanica, with broader leaves than the English bluebell and upright flowers. Spanish bowline a double loop knot used esp. to hoist or lower a person. Spanish broom a leguminous shrub, Spartium junceum, of the Mediterranean region, with fragrant yellow flowers and green rushlike almost leafless branches which are used in basket-work. Spanish brown a reddish-brown earth containing iron oxides, used as a pigment; the colour of this. Spanish burton Nautical a tackle with two single blocks. Spanish cedar the wood of a tropical American tree, Cedrela odorata, which is soft, light, and fragrant like that of the cedar; the tree yielding this wood. Spanish chestnut: see CHESTNUT noun 1a. Spanish-Colonial adjective & noun (designating) a style of architecture characteristic of Spanish America. Spanish comb a decorative comb with a deep top, worn in the hair. Spanish dagger any of several yuccas (cf. Spanish bayonet above); esp. Yucca gloriosa, of the south-eastern US. Spanish dance a flamenco dance, flamenco dancing. Spanish dancing flamenco dancing. Spanish elm = prince-wood s.v. PRINCE noun. Spanish flu colloq. = Spanish influenza below. Spanish fly a bright green blister-beetle, Lyssa vesicatoria; a dried preparation of these beetles (see CANTHARIS). Spanish foot a foot on a chair etc. in the form of a scroll with vertical ribs. Spanish garlic the sand leek or rocambole, Allium scorodoprasum. Spanish guitar the standard six-stringed acoustic guitar, used for both folk and classical music. Spanish influenza influenza caused by an influenza virus of type A, esp. that of the pandemic which began in 1918. Spanish Inquisition: see INQUISITION noun 3. Spanish iris any garden iris belonging to a group having bulbs without storage roots, hybrids of Iris xiphium and its close allies. Spanish lime = GUINEP. Spanish mackerel any of several large Atlantic game-fishes mainly of the genus Scomberomorus, esp. Scomberomorus maculatus; (Monterey Spanish mackerel: see MONTEREY 3). Spanish Main Hist. the northern coast of S. America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea esp. between Panama and the Orinoco river. Spanish Mission adjective & noun (designating) a style of architecture characteristic of the Catholic missions in Spanish America. Spanish moss an epiphytic bromeliad of tropical America, Tillandsia usneoides, forming silvery festoons on trees. Spanish needles (the prickly fruits of) an American bur-marigold, Bidens bipinnata. Spanish nut a Mediterranean plant of the iris family, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, with an edible corm. Spanish omelette: containing various chopped vegetables and freq. served unfolded. Spanish onion a large mild-flavoured variety of onion. Spanish opening Chess = RUY LOPEZ. Spanish plum W. Indies a kind of hog plum, Spondias purpurea. Spanish rice a dish of rice with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables, typically coloured and flavoured with saffron. Spanish sheep (a) a merino sheep; (b) = JACOB 4. Spanish squill = Spanish bluebell above. Spanish stitch an embroidery stitch worked as two adjacent rows of straight stitches slanting in opposite directions. Spanish tile (a) a curved roof tile, laid alternately convex and concave so as to overlap at both sides; (b) US a curved roof tile with an overlapping straight projection at one side. Spanish toothpick: see TOOTHPICK noun 2. Spanish topaz a reddish- or brownish-orange form of quartz, resembling topaz; esp. a variety of citrine occurring naturally in Spain. Spanish tummy colloq. diarrhoea suffered by visitors to Spain. Spanish white finely powdered chalk used as a pigment or for its cleansing properties; pigment made from this. Spanish windlass Nautical a device for tightening a rope etc. using a stick as a lever. Spanish wood Spanish mahogany.
b. noun.
Orig., a Spaniard. Later only, the Spanish people collectively. LME.
C. Phillips The Spanish press home a full claim to sovereignty.
The principal language of Spain and of most of Central and S. America, a Romance language with many Arabic words; a particular variety of this. L15.
Mexican Spanish: see MEXICAN.
C. Phillips The British make no effort to acquire any Spanish. Word These usages are not..similar to coastal Peruvian Spanish.
a. More fully plain Spanish. Spanish snuff. L17-M18.
b. The cash, the money. slang. M18.
c. (A variety of) Spanish wine. L20.
C. adverb. walk Spanish, (cause to) walk under compulsion, esp. with a person holding the collar and the seat of the trousers of the person made to walk. US slang. M19.
Spanishly adverb (a) rare towards Spain or the Spanish; (b) resembling (the) Spanish; in a characteristically Spanish manner: M17.
Spanishness,
Spanishry nouns the quality of being Spanish or having Spanish characteristics M20.
Spanishy adjective of a Spanish type or character E20.