List of English Words of Spanish Origin - T

T

taco

from taco, "plug"

tamale

from Spanish tamales, pl. of tamal, from Nahuatl tamalli meaning dumpling made from corn flour

tango

from Spanish tango.

tapioca

from tapioca, "cassava"

ten-gallon hat

from Spanish tan galán meaning "so gallant (looking)"; alternate theory is the gallon of Texas English here is a misunderstanding of galón meaning braid

temblor

Spanish for trembling, or earthquake; from temblar, to shake, from Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, from Latin tremulus

tequila

from tequila

telenovela, or telenovella

from telenovela, "soap opera"

tilde

from tilde

tobacco

from Spanish (Nahuatl influenced) tabaco, "snuff", .

tomatillo

from Spanish tomatillo, "small tomate" (see Physalis philadelphica)

tomato

from Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl xitomatl

torero

from toro, "bull"

tornado

from Spanish tronada, "thunderstorm", influenced by tornar, "to turn"

tortilla

from tortilla, "little cake". Currently means "omelet" in Spain; in Spanish America = small cake of either corn meal or wheat flour

tuna

from Spanish atún, from Arabic تون tun, from Latin thunnus, from Greek θύννος, thynnos (=tuna fish)

turista

from turista, "tourist"