spanish

present singular third person spanishes · participle present spanishing · participle past spanished · past spanished

1. mediaTo subject to spanishing, a printing process in which an ink is deposited on the bottoms and sides of depressions formed in a plastic material

   Such papers have been print-embossed or spanished to obtain special effects.

   1969, Robert H. Mosher, Dale Stroble Davis, Industrial and Specialty Papers: Applications, page 180

1. not comparableOf or pertaining to Spain.

   Spanish borders

   1 more example

   Whether Martial's heart was in the Spanish highlands or whether he was happy enough in Rome will be discussed later[…]

   2005, J. P. Sullivan, Martial, the unexpected classic, page 1

2. not comparableOf or pertaining to the people or culture of Spain.

   Spanish cuisines

   2 more examples

   Though she was Indian like the rest of us, she had a fine Spanish nose.

   1996, Oscar Zeta Acosta, “From Whence I Came”, in Oscar "Zeta" Acosta: the uncollected works, page 42

   Spanish cuisine is not as spicy hot as Mexican, but it is flavorful and bright.

   2007, Lynette Rohrer Shirk, chapter 1, in The Everything Tapas and Small Plates Cookbook

3. not comparableOf or pertaining to the Spanish language.

   Spanish verbs

   1 more example

   Fundamentally, the Spanish vowel sounds are only five, even though as a matter of fact there may be different other sounds for such vowels as [a], [e] and [o].

   1918, Julián Moreno-Lacalle, Elements of Spanish Pronunciation, page 12

4. CanadaUSinformalnonstandardnot comparableOf or pertaining to Hispanic people or their culture.

plural Spanishes

1. uncountableA Romance language primarily spoken in Spain and in the Americas.

   "If he speaks Spanish, my daughter can converse with him ; she has but shortly arrived from Spain."

   1873, Frederick Marryat, Mr. Midshipman Easy, page 163

   4 more examples

   “You should read Spanish,” he said. “It is a noble tongue. It has not the mellifluousness of Italian, Italian is the language of tenors and organ-grinders, but it has grandeur: it does not ripple like a brook in a garden, but it surges tumultuous like a mighty river in flood.”

   1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter LXXXVI, in Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC

   Therefore in Novial, as well as in Esp-Ido, we simplify the spelling in all words containing double letters in the national languages, from which the words are taken: pasa (E pass, F passer), efekte, komun (F commun, E common), etc. In this we follow the beautiful example of Spanish, which writes pasar, efecto, común, etc., and even extend it to cases in which Spanish makes a distinction in sound and spelling, as with ll and rr: bel S bello, F belle, koresponda, S corresponder, etc.

   1928, Otto Jespersen, An International Language, page 48

   In contrast with the creole languages discussed above, the article systems of Rumanian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are more complex, since neutralization fails to occur to a large extent.

   1995, Hanna Pishwa, Karl Maroldt, editors, The Development of Morphological Systematicity, page 146

   I call them otroverts—from otro, the Spanish word for “other,” and vertere, Latin for “to turn.” Otroverts are people who turn in a different direction: not inward like introverts, not outward like extroverts, but elsewhere. They turn toward something else entirely—independence, clarity, and observation.

   2025 June 19, Rami Kaminski, “How Outsiders Can Thrive in a World That Wants Them to Fit In”, in Next Big Idea Club

   Synonyms: Castilian

2. countableuncountableA town in Ontario, Canada.

plural Spanishes

1. collectivecountablein pluraluncountableThe people of Spain, collectively; Spaniards.

   The Spanish are not the only ones selling their goods along the wharves and the inner streets.

   1976, Robert Rézette, The Spanish Enclaves in Morocco, page 62

   Synonyms: Spaniard

2. uncountableSpanish cuisine; traditional Spanish food.
3. UScollectivecountablein pluralinformalnonstandarduncountablePeople of Hispanic origin; one whose first language is Spanish.

   Sixty-four percent more Spanish are functionally illiterate compared to Anglos in Lubbock (only 15 percent more of nonwhites than Anglos).

   1970, Henry Sioux Johnson, William J. Hernández-Martinez, Educating the Mexican American, page 87

   Synonyms: Hispanic

4. UKobsoleteslanguncountableMoney.

   Jack Ar. […] I must come back to father — and what then? — he won't give me the Spanish. Project. The Spanish! — now what the devil's that? Jack Ar. Why, ready money, not credit or paper.

   1797, Frederic Reynolds, Reynolds' Plays, page 13

5. Northern EnglandcolloquialuncountableLicorice.
6. historicaluncountableA mixture of ash and cinders added to bricks before firing them, to cause ignition and reduce fuel usage.