Taino words in Dominican Spanish

NALs · Oct 4, 2005

Here are some Taino words that are still alive in Dominican Spanish. Notice, some words have been officially incorporated into Spanish due to a lack of Spanish word for that particular item (ie. Ceiba, Hamaca, etc). Other words are use interchangeably with their Spanish counterparts (ie. Bohio and Casita, Mucaro and Buho, etc). Also, some words are exclusively used in the DR, Puerto Rico, and Cuba (ie. Katey, Jibaro, etc).

Also, keep in mind that often many Taino words are used as idiomatic expressions and/or idioms.
Also, this is only a small selection of Taino words used in Dominican Spanish.

Aji = n : Hot Pepper.

Anacaona = n : Golden Flower.

Areito = n : A Traditional Dances with spoken historic songs.

Arepa = n : Corn Cake.

Bara = n : Kill or Death, also a whip.

Barbacoa = n : A Stand, a four legged stand, made of sticks, used in the cooking process of roasting meat.

Batata = n : Sweet Potato.

Bohio = n : small square house (typical countryside homes).

Cocuyo = n : Small Lighting Bug, with a blueish light, they come out at night.

Colibri = n : Hummingbird.

Cana = n : Any number of Palmetto trees (A type of palmetto are the palms that line the malecon of Santo Domingo)

Ceiba = n: Silkcotton Tree (These are gigantic trees visible in the Cibao valley especially, many are upwards of 300 years old!)

Canoa = n : Small Boat.

Cacike = n : Chief.

Catey or Katey = n : Disturb, bother.

Cibao = n : Stone Mountains (today Cibao is the name of the valley, not the mountain range which Cordillera Central)

Cojiba = n : Rolled Tabacco

Cucubano = n : Large Lighting Bug.

Choreto = n : Abundance.

Guaraguao = n : Red Tailed Hawk.

Guama = n : Large Shade Tree, a fruit Tree.

Guagua = n : Bus or Car, a form of transit.

Guajey = n : Gord Scraper also known as a Guira.

Guayo = n : Grater.

Hamaca = n : Hanging Bed.

Hutia = n : Rat like roden, native to Hispaniola.

Iguana = n : Large Green Lizard.

Jaiba = n : River Crab or Freshwater Crayfish River.

Jicotea = n : Land Turtle.

Jibaro = n : Man of the Forest.

Manati = n : Sea Cow.

Mabi = n : A Fruit tree.

Maraca = n : Gord Rattle, Musical Instrument made of Higuera gord.

Macu = n : Big Eyes.

Maco = n: Frog.

Maguey = n : Big Sun, a Drum. (See the word Mayohuacan).

Manicato = n : A Bold person, valiant of a good heart.

Mime = n : Little Fly.

Mucaro = n : Owl.

Naiboa = n : The poisonous juice of the Yuca brava.

Nana = n : Girl. (Dominicans often say Nena as oppose to Nana).

Sabana = n : Big Valle or Large Plain.

Sanaco = n : Clown, Dope or Stupid.

Tabacu = n : Tabacco.

Tiburon = n : Shark.

Yagua = n: A small palm native to Hispaniola.

Yabisi = n : Tree.

aegap · Oct 4, 2005

Conuco
Yola

Both strike as Tainoan[(?)he he] words.

NALs · Oct 4, 2005

aegap said:
Conuco
Yola

Both strike as Tainoan[(?)he he] words.

Conuco is Taino, means plot of cultivated land or small farm.

Yola, I'm not too sure if Yola is Taino in origin, most likely but could be African or Spanish.

I will check.

Mirador · Oct 4, 2005

Nal0whs said:
Conuco is Taino, means plot of cultivated land or small farm.

Yola, I'm not too sure if Yola is Taino in origin, most likely but could be African or Spanish.

I will check.

Yola from the English word "yawl" (a ship's small boat)

aegap · Oct 4, 2005

Interesting! please tell us more, Mirador...

NALs · Oct 4, 2005

Mirador said:
Yola from the English word "yawl" (a ship's small boat)

Thanks!

Add any words I may have left out from the list...

aegap · Oct 4, 2005

According to the RAE:

yola.
(Del fr. yole, de or. germ.).
1. f. Embarcaci?n muy ligera movida a remo y con vela.

mkohn · Oct 4, 2005

Just wondering what would be the origin of 'guagua' since they probably weren't invented in Taino days?
Useful list.
mkohn

NALs · Oct 4, 2005

mkohn said:
Just wondering what would be the origin of 'guagua' since they probably weren't invented in Taino days?
Useful list.
mkohn

The truth about the word "guagua" is that nobody truly knows where it came from.

More often than not, its included in Taino vocabularies because its similar to the multitude of Taino words, in other words, blends in very well.

However, guagua is also used in other Spanish speaking countries, but it has different meaning.

Perhaps, this is speculation here, the word was of Taino origin, quickly became part of the Spanish being used by the Conquistadors and they dispersed the word to other regions of the Americas, with time changing the meaning.

But, that is only speculation and one thing I don't like to do is speculate, but take it for what its worth.

In any case, I include it on this list because its often cited as a Taino word.

andrea9k · Oct 4, 2005

According to RAE's dictionary

guagua1.
(Etim. disc.).
...
3. f. Cuba y R. Dom. Nombre gen?rico de numerosas especies de insectos hem?pteros, peque?os, de color blanco o gris, que atacan a numerosas plantas, especialmente a los c?tricos, y llegan a destruirlos.
de ~.
....
guagua2.
(Del quechua w?wa).
1. f. ?. Andes. Ni?o de pecho. En Ecuador, u. c. com.
2. f. Per?. Pan dulce con forma de ni?o.

For Cuba and Dominican Republic guagua means a family of insects that destroy citric trees (??news for me) no reference to its taino origin nor to buses or cars.

For the Andean countries guagua refers to lil babies. Its origin is stated as a quechua word (one of the ancient languages of the Andes region in south america).

Anyway, even when the dictionary does not state the word as meaning a bus... nobody that has lived here can deny guagua also refers to a dominican bus.

Jess

Mirador · Oct 4, 2005

just a thought...

Many of the words we currently use and assume are Taino in origin, were actually assimilated into the Taino language from other sources, like Nahuatl, Guaran?, Quecha, Arawak, Tupi, Maya, Aymara, Miskito, and others. Just like tourism flourishes now in the DR, before the Conquest the island of Hispaniola was a favorite travel destination for both South American, Central American, and even North American people. Many place names (rivers, mountains,...), plants, foodstufs, animals are derived from other Amerindian languages. (Remember, this island has always had sunny beaches, fun, maybe even sankies/sankiettes ;-) Also, the island was shared between different aboriginal groups, the Tainos, Macor?s, Ciguayos, Caribes, with different customs, languages, and even physical traits.

I suspect the expression "pariguayo" is a shortened version of "parece-un-Ciguayo", which shortened in pronounciation to "par?-ciguayo", to "par?-guayo", to reflect a particular simpleton characteristic of the Ciguayos' personality.

In the South "ma?z" (corn) is pronounced "maj?" and plural "majise", which sounds closer to the Taino "maisi"

Chirimoya · Oct 4, 2005

My comments in italics:

Guagua = n: Bus or Car, a form of transit. I would have thought this was an omno-whatsit, you know, when the word derives from the sound associated the object, in this case a horn. Interesting that it is also the Quechua word for baby, probably for a similar reason.

Batata = n : Sweet Potato. I always thought this was Arabic but as potatoes came from this side of the globe it is also likely that the name originated here/ Whatever the origin, this is the derivation of the English word for potato.

Many of the other words have not just filtered into Dominican Spanish, they are internationally recognised words in Spanish everywhere, and are well-known in English and other languages for that matter.

Barbacoa = n : A Stand, a four legged stand, made of sticks, used in the cooking process of roasting meat. Origin of the English barbecue.

Canoa = n : Small Boat. Canoe.

Hamaca = n : Hanging Bed. Hammock.

Iguana = n : Large Green Lizard. Same in English.

Manati = n : Sea Cow. Also known as Manatee in English.

Sabana = n : Big Valle or Large Plain. English Savannah.

Tabacu = n : Tabacco. Tobacco.

The rest are definitely Dominican Spanish words, although some are well-known in other parts of the Spanish speaking greater Caribbean, like jaiba (Colombia), jibaro (PR) and arepa (Venezuela and Colombia). Aji for pepper is used as further afield as Ecuador, and tiburon is the standard Spanish word for shark.

This is fascinating. I've seen such lists at the Museo del hombre (sic) Dominicano and the Centro Leon, together with a list of African and archaic Spanish words in common use in the DR.

NALs · Oct 4, 2005

Chirimoya said:
My comments in italics:

Guagua = n: Bus or Car, a form of transit. I would have thought this was an omno-whatsit, you know, when the word derives from the sound associated the object, in this case a horn. Interesting that it is also the Quechua word for baby, probably for a similar reason.

Batata = n : Sweet Potato. I always thought this was Arabic but as potatoes came from this side of the globe it is also likely that the name originated here/ Whatever the origin, this is the derivation of the English word for potato.

Many of the other words have not just filtered into Dominican Spanish, they are internationally recognised words in Spanish everywhere, and are well-known in English and other languages for that matter.

Barbacoa = n : A Stand, a four legged stand, made of sticks, used in the cooking process of roasting meat. Origin of the English barbecue.

Canoa = n : Small Boat. Canoe.

Hamaca = n : Hanging Bed. Hammock.

Iguana = n : Large Green Lizard. Same in English.

Manati = n : Sea Cow. Also known as Manatee in English.

Sabana = n : Big Valle or Large Plain. English Savannah.

Tabacu = n : Tabacco. Tobacco.

The rest are definitely Dominican Spanish words, although some are well-known in other parts of the Spanish speaking greater Caribbean, like jaiba (Colombia), jibaro (PR) and arepa (Venezuela and Colombia). Aji for pepper is used as further afield as Ecuador, and tiburon is the standard Spanish word for shark.

This is fascinating. I've seen such lists at the Museo del hombre (sic) Dominicano and the Centro Leon, together with a list of African and archaic Spanish words in common use in the DR.

At the very least, let's leave Guagua as suspect.

The rest simply shows to the extent the Taino culture has reached international spheres, though much of the world knows nothing of them, let alone the origins of those words in English, from Spanish, from Taino, and as Mirador posted, from other native groups!

Wow, this thread is turning out nicer than I previously thought!

carina · Oct 4, 2005

Maní is taino.

One of the Gods, Jurakán, was perpetually angry and ruled the power of the hurricane and the evil. (alternative spelling: huracan )

carina · Oct 4, 2005

Agree

Wow, this thread is turning out nicer than I previously thought!

Indeed, an interesting topic!
Keep it coming, and a really good thought of you!

andrea9k · Oct 4, 2005

Just checked aj?, ta?no word. I must report its usage extends southern Ecuador. At least Per? and almost sure Chile (the southest country in South America) use this word for hot pepper.

Jess

asopao · Oct 5, 2005

Nal0whs said:
The truth about the word "guagua" is that nobody truly knows where it came from.

More often than not, its included in Taino vocabularies because its similar to the multitude of Taino words, in other words, blends in very well.

However, guagua is also used in other Spanish speaking countries, but it has different meaning.

Perhaps, this is speculation here, the word was of Taino origin, quickly became part of the Spanish being used by the Conquistadors and they dispersed the word to other regions of the Americas, with time changing the meaning.

But, that is only speculation and one thing I don't like to do is speculate, but take it for what its worth.

In any case, I include it on this list because its often cited as a Taino word.

guagua is not Taino. guagua is a Guanche word, from the native people of the Canary Islands. It was brought over by the influx of Canarios that went to Cuba, DR and Puerto Rico during colonial times.

carina · Oct 5, 2005

There are many suggestions about the word Guagua

And the most common is I think what you wrote above,

The term guagua is used in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Puerto Rico to refer to a city bus.
At the turn of the 20th century, the term referred to a horse-drawn wagon, and viajar de guagua meant `to ride for free.'
The same term is found in the Canary Islands, with identical meaning, and is used even in the most remote regions, on all seven islands.
Most analyses of Canary Spanish attribute this term to Cuban influence, brought back by returning islanders who had lived in Cuba.
The use of guagua in Equatorial Guinea (formerly Fernando Poo) has also been attributed to the Cuban exile and slave population which was sent to the island in the mid 1800's (Gonz?lez Echegaray 1959: 64).

The form, however, bears the characterstic shape of Guanche words, and the existence of this word among the Isle?os of Louisiana, whose ancestors left the Canary Islands in the late 1700's, suggests the opposite route of transfer. The general absence of the word in the Spanish of Venezuela, where the Canary Island presence was also strong, adds to the confusion concerning the origins of guagua.

Stodgord · Oct 5, 2005

Nal0whs said:
Mabi = n : A Fruit tree.

I thought this was the fermented drink made from the bohuco plant or palo indio. Also used in Puerto Rico to despict this beverage.

NALs · Oct 5, 2005

Stodgord said:
I thought this was the fermented drink made from the bohuco plant or palo indio. Also used in Puerto Rico to despict this beverage.

That is the name for that drink as well.

Taino words in Dominican Spanish

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