Word origins

• ChevezA surname from Spanish.
• ChiapaFormer name of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
• chicaloteFlatbud prickly poppy (Argemone munita), a prickly poppy native to California.
• chicharronA Spanish dish made from fried pork.
• chicozapoteSynonym of sapodilla.
• chilacaA variety of chili native to Mexico.
• ChilangaA town in Morazán department, El Salvador.
• chilaquilesA traditional Mexican dish of fried tortilla chips topped with salsa.
• chile con quesoA creamy sauce used as a dip, made from melted cheese and chili peppers.
• chile rellenoA chile (typically a poblano) that has been stuffed with cheese or a mixture of minced meat and other ingredients, then covered in batter, fried, and served with a tomato-based sauce.
• chili con carneA dish of meat and beans in a tomato sauce flavoured with chili peppers.
• chili sin carneA vegetarian version of chili con carne.
• ChilminarSynonym of Persepolis, particularly its modern ruins.
• chilorioA dish from Sinaloa, Mexico, of slow-simmered pork (or, rarely, something else such as mushrooms) fried and cooked in a chile sauce.
• ChilpancingoA city, the state capital of Guerrero, Mexico.
• ChiltiupánA town in La Libertad department, El Salvador.
• chiltomaAny sweet pepper.
• ChimalA surname from Spanish [in turn from Nahuatl].
• chimangoMilvago chimango, a South American bird of prey related to the falcon.
• chimichangaA deep-fried burrito
• ChinamecaA town in San Miguel department, El Salvador.
• chinampaA floating island in a shallow lake bed, upon which crops were grown.
• ChinchaA native people of Peru.
• ChinchewQuanzhou (a city in southern Fujian, China).
• ChineaA surname from Spanish.
• Chinese mestizoA person of mixed ethnic Chinese Filipino and Austronesian Filipino ancestry.
• chingasAn expression of surprise or wonder. Wow! Awesome!
• ChirilaguaA town in San Miguel department, El Salvador.
• chirimiaA Peruvian form of oboe / shawm
• chistorraA type of pork sausage from the Basque Country.
• chivarrasLeather leggings of a sort worn by people in or from Mexico and the Southwestern United States.
• ChivilcoyA city and partido in Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
• chochapussy; vulva
• Choclo virusA single-stranded, negative-sense RNA zoonotic New World hantavirus, first isolated in 1999 in western Panama.
• choriquesoA Mexican food consisting of chorizo and cheese, resembling fondue.
• chubascoA violent squall with thunder and lightning, encountered during the rainy season along the Pacific coast of Central America and South America.
• chuchupateA wild plant related to lovage, Ligusticum porteri, which is used in traditional medicine.
• chuckwallaA lizard, of the genus Sauromalus, living in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
• chufaCyperus esculentus, a species of sedge native to warm temperate to subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere having small edible tubers (tiger nuts).
• Chula VistaA city in San Diego County, California, United States.
• chulengoA young guanaco.
• chupallaFascicularia bicolor, a Chilean bromeliad.
• chuparosaA flowering desert shrub, Justicia californica, native to southern California, Arizona, and northern Mexico.
• chuquiraguaA plant, Chuquiraga insignis.
• churraA sheep of an Iberian breed with coarse wool.
• churrascoA type of barbecued steak, popular in Latin America.
• churreraA device for making churros by extruding dough under pressure.
• churuataA large communal house, typically round with a conical thatched roof, used by indigenous groups of southern Venezuela.
• ciboleroA Spanish colonial (and later Mexican) buffalo hunter from New Mexico.
• cigarilloA thin cigar, differing from a cigarette in being wrapped with tobacco leaves rather than paper.
• Cinco de MayoA national celebration in Mexico, commemorating the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, also celebrated widely by immigrants living in the United States.
• CinqueraA town in Cabañas department, El Salvador.
• cinquilloA type of Latin American musical rhythm consisting of five-beat units.
• CintoraA surname from Spanish.
• CipitioA legendary character revolving around the Siguanaba and Cadejo legends, portrayed as an 8-10-year-old boy with a large conical hat and a pot belly.
• CisneroA surname from Spanish.
• CitaláA town in Chalatenango department, El Salvador.
• City of AngelsNickname for Los Angeles: a major city in California, United States.
• Ciudad ArceA town in La Libertad department, El Salvador.
• Ciudad BarriosA town in San Miguel department, El Salvador.
• Ciudad JuárezA city in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico.
• Ciudad MaderoA city in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
• Ciudad RealThe capital city of the province of the same name, in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
• Civil GuardA police officer in the Civil Guard.
• Coahuila y TejasA former constituent state of the United Mexican States, part of which revolted and became the Republic of Texas, the rest stayed and remained as Coahuila. Official name: Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas.
• CoatepequeA town in Santa Ana department, El Salvador.
• CoatzacualcosA city in Veracruz, Mexico.
• cocadaA type of coconut confectionery originating from the coasts of Latin America.
• cocaleroA grower of coca leaves in Peru or Bolivia.
• cochayuyoA type of edible seaweed (Durvillaea antarctica).
• cochinita pibilA traditional Yucatec slow-roasted pork dish.
• cocolicheA pidgin or language continuum formed from Italian and Spanish, spoken in parts of the River Plate region of South America between the late nineteenth century and the 1970s.
• coconut appleThe cotyledon of a coconut eaten as food.
• cogonAny of several perennial rhizomatous grasses of genus Imperata, especially Imperata cylindrica.
• cohuneA palm tree of species Attalea cohune, native to South America, that produces large nuts.
• CojutepequeA town in Cuscatlán department, El Salvador.
• ColchadoA surname from Spanish.
• cold dropA high-impact rainfall event occurring in the autumn along the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
• coletaA pigtail, a symbol of the matador.
• CollazosA surname from Spanish.
• colmadoA corner store.
• Colmenar de OrejaA town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain.
• Colmenar ViejoA town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain.
• colocoloLeopardus colocola, a small striped cat native to western central South America.
• colónThe currency of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos.
• coloncheAn ancient Mexican alcoholic drink made from nopal.
• Colonia LeBaronA village in Chihuahua, Mexico.
• ComacaránA town in San Miguel department, El Salvador.
• ComalapaA town in Chalatenango department, El Salvador.
• Comal CountyOne of 254 counties in Texas, United States. County seat: New Braunfels.
• comandanciaA commandery.
• comarcaA traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil.
• ComasaguaA town in La Libertad department, El Salvador.
• ComecrudanOf or relating to a group of possibly related extinct languages that were spoken in the southernmost part of Texas and in northern Mexico along the Rio Grande.
• ComecrudoAn indigenous people of Mexico, who lived in the northern state of Tamaulipas.
• commandancyA comandancia; a commandery.
• ComparanA surname from Spanish.
• comparsaA group of singers, musicians and dancers in a carnival or other festivity in Spain or Latin America.
• comprendodo you understand?
• Concepción BatresA town in Usulután department, El Salvador.