Spanish

The word “Spanish” means relating to Spain, its people, or its culture. In plain terms, relating to Spain, or the language spoken there and across Latin America.

“Spanish” is pronounced SPA-nihsh (/ˈspænɪʃ/ in IPA).

Here is “Spanish” used in a sentence: “They fell in love with Spanish architecture during their trip.”

Depending on how it is used, “Spanish” can be an adjective and a proper noun.

The word “Spanish” comes from Middle English. From Middle English Spainish, built from "Spain" plus the suffix "-ish.".

“Spanish” is a very common word in modern English.

“Spanish” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: relating to Spain, its people, or its culture.

Spanish means relating to Spain specifically — its people, language, or culture. Hispanic is broader, describing people or cultures with roots in Spanish-speaking countries, most of them in Latin America. Someone from Mexico is Hispanic but not Spanish, while a person from Madrid is both. The key is Spain itself versus the wider Spanish-speaking world.

It is both. As a nationality or adjective, Spanish describes people and things from Spain. As a language, Spanish is spoken by Spaniards and by hundreds of millions of people across Latin America and beyond. So the same word covers the nation of Spain and one of the world's most widely spoken languages.

Spanish refers to Spain and its people. Latino, or Latina, refers to people of Latin American origin, such as those from Mexico, Colombia, or Brazil, regardless of the language they speak. A Brazilian is Latino but speaks Portuguese, not Spanish, which shows that the two labels are not the same.