▪ I. Spanish, a. (adv.) and n.1
(ˈspænɪʃ)
Forms: α. 3 Spainisce, 5 Spaynessh(e, -ysshe, -ish, Spainysshe, 6 Spaynisshe, -ysch, Spaynes, Sc. Spaines, 9 Sc. Spainish. β. 5–6 Spanyshe, 6 -yssh(e, -ische, -issh, -ys, Spenyes, Spannishe, Sc. Spanes, 8 Spannish, 6– Spanish.
[f. Spain + -ish, with later shortening of the first element. Cf. OE. Speonisc (ælfric), MDu. Spaensch, Spaens, Du. Spaansch), G. Spanisch, Da. and Sw. Spansk.]
A. adj.
1. a. Of or pertaining to Spain or its people; inhabiting, native to, characteristic of, Spain.
| c 1205 Lay. 30703 Heo hahten hine Kinebord ut of Spainisce [v.r. Spaynes] ard. 1382 Wycliffite Bible Pref. Epp. ix. (1850) I. 76 Spanyshe songes upon deed men [L. Hiberas nænias]. c 1400 Brut ccxxix. (1908) 304 When þe Spaynesshe vessellis & nauey were closid yn al about. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxvii. 415 He coude very wel speke the spanysshe languag. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. ii. 2 b, [We] sailed through the Spanish Seas towards the Iles Baleares. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 64 The Spanish Traveller, who was so habituated to hyperbolize,..that he became ridiculous in all companies. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 18 All the Gold in the Spanish Mines. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Archit. I. 56 The Spanish Order..is more elegant than the Roman. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 344 Even those [wild horses] which are found in America are of a Spanish breed. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 537 In 1566, it constrained the Dutch to shake off the Spanish yoke. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. lxxxi, Who late so free as Spanish girls were seen? 1871 Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue 304 Round by the Spanish peninsula have also come to us those English..nouns which are derived from Arabic. |
b. Spanish Main, the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea,
esp. that portion of the coast stretching from the Isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco; in later use also, the sea contiguous to this, or the route traversed by the Spanish register ships. Now
Hist.| 1725 Sloane Jamaica II. 297 This is brought from the Spanish Main, or Continent of America. 1765 Phil. Trans. LV. 50 The portrait of a child born of negro parents upon the Spanish main. 1803 J. Burney Disc. in South Sea i. i. 7 That part of the continent, since known by the names of Terra Firma, and the Spanish Main. 1839 Longfellow Wreck Hesperus iv, Then..spake an old Sailor, Had sailed the Spanish Main. 1890 J. Corbett Drake viii. 110 Cartagena was the capital of the Spanish Main. |
c. Spanish March (see first
quot.).
| 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlix. V. 141 In his absence he [Charlemagne] instituted the Spanish march, which extended from the Pyrenees to the river Ebro. Ibid. note, The governors or counts of the Spanish march. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. XI. 296/1. |
d. Of a Jew or Jewish institution: of or belonging to the Sephardim; hence
Spanish-Jewish adj.; also
Spanish-Hebrew,
Spanish (and) Portuguese (
cf. Portuguese a. a).
| 1817 M. Edgeworth Harrington iv. 88 This Spanish Jew must..be a most accomplished and amiable person. 1851 [see Sephardi]. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. vii. lv. 238 His mind went to the synagogue..and heard the Spanish-Hebrew liturgy. 1892 [see Ashkenazim]. 1894 I. Zangwill King of Schnorrers v. 105 The Mahamad..administered the affairs of the Spanish-Portuguese community. 1902 G. E. Mitton Hampstead & Marylebone 80 In Bryanston Street there is a synagogue which was built for the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. 1932 C. Roth Hist. of Marranos xii. 315 On his death in 1762, he left..a legacy of {pstlg}1,000 to the Spanish and Portuguese community. 1949 ‘R. West’ Meaning of Treason i. vi. 122 That slender and distinguished old gentleman of Spanish Jewish descent, Mr Salzedo. 1977 Early Music Apr. 262 Basil Douglas Ltd. presents..Sephardic Romances from before the expulsion of the Spanish Jews (1492). 1981 Times 16 Oct. 9/1 Elias Canetti..was born in Bulgaria, of Spanish-Jewish descent. 1982 Times 26 Jan. 11/5 Sir Moses Montefiore..was an intensely loyal Englishman. The Spanish Portuguese Jewish Congregation..refused a request to transfer the remains to Israel. |
2. a. Of things: Of actual or attributed Spanish origin; made, manufactured, or produced in Spain (or Spanish America); associated or connected with Spain on this account.
| 1485 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 39 Forest billes.., Spaynish dartes. 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Hawking c v, Take yolkys of Egges rawe,..put therto spanyshe salte. 1592 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 75 Towe ovnsies of blake spenyes sylke to be boughte at Chester, iiijs. 1598 Sc. Acts, Jas. VI (1816) IV. 169/1 Euerie erle be armit and furnist w{supt}{suph} corslet of pruif, heid peaces, vanbraces, teslettis, and ane spanische pik. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. iv. (1668) 116 If it be Spanish Cute, two gallons will go further than five gallons of Candy Cute. 1649 Eng. Farrier xiii, Make your shooe of spruse or Spanish Iron. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xxii. (Roxb.) 274/1 Spanish tobacco, the wreath about a finger thickness. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho l, Some flasks of rich Spanish wine. 1821 S. F. Austin Jrnl. 8 July in Texas Hist. Assoc. Q. (1904) VII. 287 Swapped away Wilsons Horse & an old Grey..for a mule, & exchanged a french saddle for a Spanish one. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 205 S[alsola] sativa..affords all the best soda consumed in Europe. It is called by us Spanish or Alicant soda. 1846 Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 202 Spanish annotta is unquestionably the best ingredient for colouring cheese. 1880 J. Dunbar Pract. Papermaker 35 Spanish Esparto,..Oran Esparto. 1897 E. Hough Story of Cowboy 67 The Spanish saddles of the Southwest were often heavily decorated with silver. 1945 Elk Mountain Pilot (Crested Butte, Colorado) 19 July 3/1 (Advt.), For Sale... A Spanish Saddle, excellent condition. |
| Comb. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes To Friend, Thou 'dst turn'd the Pyrrhick Galliard of the Times Into inchanted Spanish-Pavin Rimes. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 283 Buffy brown or Spanish snuff colour. |
b. Esp.
Spanish leather,
Spanish mahogany,
Spanish needle,
Spanish soap,
Spanish-wool (see also 7).
| 1483 in Antiq. Rep. (1807) I. 42, viij paire of botews of *Spaynysh leder. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Glas 373 Wks. 1910 II. 152 Our knit silke stockes, and spanish lether shoes. 1626 L. Owen Speculum Jesuiticum (1629) 9 Our Spanish⁓leather Saint had a diuine reuelation of the blessed Trinitie. 1693 Dryden Juvenal vi. (1697) 134 The several Suits Of Armour, and the Spanish Leather Boots! 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4862/4 Every..Spanish Leather-dresser, and all other Dressers of Hides. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Spanish-leather maker, a manufacturer of Cordovan-leather. |
| 1837 W. B. Adams Pleasure Carriages 75 There are two kinds of mahogany, known as ‘*Spanish’ and ‘Honduras’. 1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools App. 69 Spanish mahogany is the more highly valued for ornamental purposes. |
| 1584 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 368 For *spanishe needles iii{supd}. 1605 Tryall Chev. ii. i. in Bullen Old Pl. (1884) III. 286 Sitting upon the poynt of a Spanish needle. 1615 Markham Country Contentm. i. x, The best substance whereof to make Angling hooks, is either old Spanish needles, or else strong wier. |
| c 1450 M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 134 Take harde *spaynessh sepe and a litul stale ale. 1572 Gascoigne Councell to Withipoll 78 Some may present thee with a pounde or twaine Of Spanishe soape to washe thy lynnen white. 1789 H. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 453 Such as cannot bear the asafœtida may substitute Spanish soap in its place. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 206 Spanish or Castile soap is made by mixing olive oil and soda. |
| 1436 Libel English Policy in Polit. Poems (Rolls) II. 162 Ffor *Spayneshe wolle in Fflaundres draped is. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Wool, The goodness of the Spanish Wools is owing to a few English Sheep sent over into Spain. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 343/2 The wool..is used for mixing with Spanish wool in some of their finest cloths. |
c. Of articles of dress, etc.: Made in Spain, of Spanish materials, or after the Spanish fashion.
| 1530 Palsgr. 273/2 Spaynisshe bagge, bauldrier. c 1534 in Lewis Life Fisher (1855) II. 297, 2 Spanyshe napkyns wroght wythe sylke and gold. 1542 Nottingham Rec. III. 220 One Spaynes cloke of frysado. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. iv. vii, His Spanish slops. Ana. They are profane..and idolatrous breeches. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. 120 A Nose..against which there is no possible defence but Spanish Gloves. 1652 News fr. Lowe-Countr. 2 Sometimes, forsooth, the Spanish Hose Doth trick him up, and there He goes. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. ii. xix, A palmer's amice..With a wrought Spanish baldric bound. 1925 G. Greene Babbling April 17 And the night was so hot, And no one can see in the dark, And a rent in the Spanish shawl. 1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter ii. 92 A grand piano on which [is] a white Spanish shawl with red and green embroidered roses. 1975 ‘R. Player’ Let's talk of Graves iii. 77 The year '54..the year of the largest crinolines... Thrown over them..were..large Spanish shawls. |
d. Needlework. (See
quots.)
| 1640 J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise Needle A 2 The Spanish-stitch, Rosemary-stitch, and Mowse-stitch. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlew. 454/1 Spanish embroidery, a modern work, and closely resembling Darning on Muslin. Ibid. 455/1 Some of the Spanish Points are not raised, but are formed with a pattern worked out in Buttonhole Stitches. 1893 E. T. Masters Art Needlework 41 Several specimens of the embroidery executed by this queen [Katharine of Aragon]..are still known as ‘Spanish work’. |
e. (
a) Denoting a style of art or architecture native to or characteristic of Spain; (
b) denoting a style of decoration or architecture imitative of that of Spain. Also
Spanish-style adj.| 1927 Sunset Mag. May 87/1 Many builders and real estate men are masquerading whole city blocks of houses under the name of Spanish. 1931 S. Sitwell (title) Spanish Baroque art. 1937 J. Laver Taste & Fashion xviii. 258 The style of his interior decoration may be shortly described as Spanish ‘baroque’. 1950 A. Wilson Such Darling Dodos 159 There were Regency bedrooms, a Spanish Baroque dining room. 1953 S. Bedford Sudden View i. i. 20 The dining-car..turned out to be..decorated with machine-carved Spanish Renaissance woodwork of astonishing gloom. 1960 Encounter Apr. 3/2 There is something ancient and unfamiliar about its [sc. a skyscraper's] situation among Spanish-style San Francisco homes. 1970 H. Braun Parish Churches xi. 148 It [sc. the arch] is often four-centred or, in some of the more opulent examples, the three-centred ‘Spanish’ arch. 1976 Liverpool Echo 22 Nov. 14/2 (Advt.), Hall, lounge, Spanish arch to dining room, [etc.]. 1977 N.Z. Herald 8 Jan. 4–3/1 (Advt.), $5000 deposit will secure this charming Spanish bungalow in New Windsor. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. (Advt. Section) 19/5 Enter this custom Spanish territorial home over a wooden bridge. 1979 N. Hartley Quicksilver vi. 77 Several Spanish-style interior patios. |
3. a. Of a type or kind characteristic of, or exemplified by, the Spaniards.
In
quot. 1584, ‘deceitful, perfidious, treacherous’.
| 1530 Palsgr. 225/1 Gyrdell for a purse of the spaynisshe facyon. 1584 Walsingham in Cott. Libr. Catal. 8 The French king..will mislike, that, by any Spanish practice, she should be drawn to violate her faith. 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. Wks. (Grosart) I. 192 Be thinke your selues of the olde Romane Discipline, and the newe Spanish industry. a 1628 F. Greville Sidney iii. (1652) 37 His Spanish haughture. 1693 W. Freke Sel. Ess. Apol. 5, I shall not cramp myself to a Spanish Cutt to do it. 1806 A. Hunter Culina 159 To stew Vegetables in the Spanish manner. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xvii, Your poem..is crude in parts. It is too Spanish and provincial. |
b. an old Spanish custom:
phr. used
joc. to justify a long-standing practice which is unauthorized or otherwise irregular.
| 1932 N. & Q. 13 Feb. 122/1 Could any reader tell me the origin of the phrase, ‘An old Spanish custom,’ as applied, in a jocular sense, to any unauthorised practice? 1966 M. Torrie Heavy as Lead x. 115 Giving Sir Ganymede lunch at the pub..appeared by this time to have become an old Spanish custom. 1982 Listener 25 Nov. 13/2 The December issue of Encounter..lifts some lids on the ‘old Spanish customs’ of Fleet Street print unions. |
4. In the names of various diseases.
| 1583–91 [see pip n.1 b]. 1600 Pory tr. Leo's Africa i. 39 This they were most certainly perswaded of, that the same disease came first from Spaine; wherefore they..call it, The Spanish poxe. 1608 [see pox n. 1 e]. 1681 [see pock n. 2 a α]. a 1700 Dict. Cant. Crew, Spanish-gout, the Pox. c 1720 W. Gibson Farrier's Dispens. xiv. (1734) 271 The disease of the Head, which he [Solleysell] calls the Spanish-evil,..affected the Head with a Delirium or Madness. 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 38 Five western cattle died of Spanish fever at Millerton,..New York, where they were quarantined. |
5. Of or pertaining to, dealing or connected with, the language or literature of Spain.
| 1599 Minsheu (title), A Spanish Grammar, first collected..by R. Percivale,..now augmented..by J. Minsheu. 1706 Stevens Spanish & Eng. Dict. Pref., The Spanish Diminutives are much more numerous than the Substantives. 1706 ― New Spanish Grammar 3, I shall enter immediately upon the Spanish Alphabet. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Bible, Where he explains the Hebrew Words by Spanish Words. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 302/1 A Spanish grammar for the use of English students. 1887 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 352/2 The law of Spanish accentuation. Ibid., A treatise on Spanish ‘doublets’ by Mme. Carolina Michaelis. 1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 129 Spanish n, a capital or lower case n with a curly accent, thus—ñ. |
6. In combination with other proper names, as
Spanish-American,
Spanish-Arab(ic,
Spanish-Indian,
Spanish-Mexican, etc.
| 1705 R. Beverley Virginia 51 By their Accounts, we suppose him to have come from the Spanish Indians, some-where near Mexico, or the Mines of St. Barbe. 1727 E. Dorrington Hermit i. i. 1, I accidentally fell into Discourse with a Spanish Mexican Inhabitant, named Alvarado. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 494/2 The Bastulian or Spanish Phœnician [alphabet]. 1811 Niles' Reg. I. 14/2 The Creoles—Spanish Americans—i.e. the descendants of Spaniards born in this country. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. Pref., The literal version..of the Spanish-Arab chronicles. 1866 Treas. Bot. 821/2 The Spanish-Americans use the leaves as a condiment. 1871 Kingsley At Last x, One of the old Spanish-Indian jungle tracks. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 653/2 We possess a few literary works written in Spanish Arabic. 1935 E. Farjeon Nursery in Nineties ii. iii. 91 A beautiful Spanish-Mexican girl who smoked cigarettes. 1980 Amer. Speech LV. 39 Geographic names of Spanish linguistic origin [are] utilized..to determine the sphere of Spanish-Mexican influence in California. |
7. Special collocations:
† Spanish ashes = barilla 2;
Spanish biscuit,
black (see
quots.);
Spanish bowline (see
quot. 1968);
Spanish brown, a kind of earth having a reddish-brown colour (due to peroxide of iron), used as a pigment; also, the colour which this imparts;
Spanish burn,
burton,
Naut. (see
quots.);
† Spanish chalk, a variety of steatite found in Spain;
Spanish Civil War, the civil war in Spain (1936–9), espoused on both sides as a popular ‘cause’ throughout Europe and America, in which Nationalist rebel forces, with Fascist support, overcame the Republican Government and its anti-Fascist allies (
cf. International Brigade s.v. international a. 2);
Spanish clew Naut. (see
quot.);
† Spanish coal, an aromatic composition [
Sp. pebete] burned as a perfume;
† Spanish coin slang (see
quot.);
Spanish-Colonial a., designating a style of architecture characteristic of the former Spanish colonies in the Americas; also
absol.;
Spanish comb, a decorative comb having a deep top, worn in the hair;
Spanish dance, the traditional dance form of Spain, of gypsy origin and characterized by elaborate heel-work and
freq. involving the use of castanets; hence
Spanish dancer,
dancing;
† Spanish fig (see
fig n. 2);
Spanish flu colloq. = Spanish influenza below;
Spanish foot, a foot (of a chair or other piece of furniture) of a scroll form with vertical ribs;
Spanish fox,
Naut. (see
fox n. 8);
† Spanish green, verdigris;
Spanish guitar, the standard six-stringed (
orig. five-stringed) non-electric guitar, used for both folk and classical music;
Spanish hat (see
quot. 1960);
Spanish influenza, a popular name for influenza caused by an influenza virus of type A;
esp. that of the pandemic which began in 1918;
Spanish juice,
liquorice (see
liquorice 1);
Spanish march,
† Spanish money,
slang (see
quots.);
Spanish omelette, an omelette containing a selection of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and other vegetables;
Spanish padlock slang (see
quot.);
† Spanish paint,
paper, cosmetics coming from or used in Spain;
† Spanish pike, a needle (
cf. sense 2 b);
Spanish red, an ochre resembling Venetian red, but slightly yellower (Fairholt, 1854);
Spanish reef Naut. (see
quot.);
Spanish spoon, a kind of long-handled scoop used for removing the earth in the excavation of holes for telegraph posts;
Spanish stripes, a kind of woollen fabric (Knight, 1875);
† Spanish sword, a rapier;
Spanish tile Building, (
a) a roofing tile that is curved cylindrically and slightly tapered, to be laid alternately convex and concave so as to overlap at both sides; (
b)
U.S., a curved roofing tile that is laid convex upwards and overlaps at one side only by means of a straight projection;
Spanish trot,
trumpeter (see
quots.);
Spanish tummy colloq., a stomach upset of a type
freq. experienced by visitors to Spain;
Spanish War = Spanish Civil War above;
Spanish wave (after G. or
Du. use as an intensive: see
quot. 1852);
Spanish white, (
a) finely powdered chalk used as a pigment or for its cleansing properties; (
b) a fine quality of flour (see
quot. 1882);
Spanish windlass Naut. (see
quot. 1846);
Spanish wood, Spanish mahogany;
Spanish wool, a variety of rouge (see also 2 b);
† Spanish worm (see
quot.).
| 1727 De Foe Eng. Tradesm. iii. (1841) I. 20 These ashes they call *Spanish. 1763 Lewis Phil. Comm. Arts 596 The ashes..are brought to us, under the name of Spanish ashes or bariglia. |
| 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 275 To make *Spanish Biscuits. [Recipe follows.] |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 341 When this cork [sc. the white cork of France] is burned in close vessels it forms the pigment called *Spanish black. |
| 1968 E. Franklin Dict. Knots 26 *Spanish bowline, a double loop knot that is tied in the bight in which the two loops are splayed. 1974 Maclean's Mag. May 10/2 Spanish bowlines to make slings for scaffolding. |
| 1660 Albert Durer Revived 15 *Spanish Brown is a dirty brown colour. 1703 R. Neve City & C. Purchaser 215 Timber-works that are expos'd to the Weather, ought..to be Prim'd with Spanish-brown. 1732 J. Peele Water-Colours 63 Shadow your Vermilion with Spanish brown. 1850 Holtzapffel Turning III. 1313 The cement is..hardened with red ochre, or Spanish brown and whiting. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 640 *Spanish-Burn, a specious method of hiding defects in timber, by chopping it in pieces. |
| 1829 Nat. Philos., Mechanics ii. viii. 36 (L.U.K.), In figs. 65, 66, are represented systems with two ropes and two moveable pullies, called *Spanish burtons. 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 55 A single Spanish burton, has three single blocks; or two single blocks and a hook fixed to one of the bights of the standing part of the tackle. A double Spanish burton, has one double and two single blocks. |
| 1759 Phil. Trans. LI. 41 note, My friend Mr. Dacosta shewed me a piece of *Spanish chalk. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 154 The steatites of China..is often called Spanish Chalk. |
| 1936 C. Prieto Spanish Front xi. 80 It is hardly necessary in this book to give a detailed description of the *Spanish Civil War. 1981 A. Price Soldier no More xi. 144 He'd subscribed to all sorts of causes, from the Spanish Civil War onwards. |
| 1893 Alston & Walker Seamanship (ed. 3) 116 *Spanish Clews..are made by serving the nettles round below the seizing, leaving one out on each side, at regular intervals. |
| 1616 B. Jonson Devil an Ass iv. iv, [To] aske for your piueti, *Spanish-cole, To burne, and sweeten a roome. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., *Spanish coin, fair words, and compliments. |
| 1927 Sunset Mag. May 15/2 The popular desire seems to be to call this architecture Spanish. Architects are inclined to call it *Spanish-Colonial. 1937 R. Newcomb Spanish-Colonial Archit. in U.S. viii. 37 Many in these states have wished to build in the Spanish Colonial rather than in the American Colonial. 1973 G. Sims Hunters Point xiii. 114 It's what they call Spanish Colonial style with wooden columns and a roof of heavily twisted tiles. 1977 H. Fast Immigrants i. 39 There was much substance if little taste all through the dining room,..a curious and uninspiring marriage of Spanish Colonial and Victorian. |
| 1873 Young Englishwoman Mar. 131/2 Diadem plaits or torsade, fastened with a *Spanish comb. 1923 M. Kennedy Ladies of Lyndon iv. 234 Could you find my Spanish comb? And..that black lace shawl. 1975 Times 23 Aug. 7/2 She hoped her mother would let her wear a Spanish comb she had rashly bought. |
| 1931 K. Boyle Plagued by Nightingale xvi. 137 He was doing a lively *Spanish dance to the piercing screams of their laughter. 1974 W. Foley Child in Forest 20 Our elder sister..once did a ‘Spanish’ dance on the end of the bed, with a cracked soap-dish for a castanet. |
| 1948 ‘La Meri’ Spanish Dancing i. 1 There are great *Spanish dancers, male and female, who are not Spanish. 1980 A. Cornelisen Torregreca vi. 129 At Carnevale..Maria made ‘Spanish dancers'’ dresses for herself and her little brother. |
| 1948 ‘La Meri’ Spanish Dancing i. 4 Hermetic Spain is that promised land to which we go to find..the greatest..*Spanish dancing in the world. |
| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 143 To see poore English asses how soberly they swallow *Spanish figges, deuour any hooke baited for them. |
| 1918 W. Owen Let. 24 June (1967) 560 About 30 officers are smitten with the *Spanish Flu. 1937 K. Blixen Out of Africa ii. v. 161 When we had the Spanish Flu on the farm, Farah was..shivering with fever. 1979 D. Williams Genesis & Exodus xi. 213 Those who had survived 1914–18 and the plague of Spanish flu that followed. |
| 1902 F. C. Morse Furnit. of Olden Time vi. 151 The chair..is of the style called Queen Anne. It has *Spanish feet. 1923 J. C. Rogers English Furnit. ii. ii. 56 Legs also were given a sudden broadening like an inverted cup... In some cases there was the carved ‘Spanish’ foot. 1975 Country Life 29 May (Suppl.) 40h (Advt.), Early 16th century Virginia walnut gateleg table with..Spanish feet. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Verd de gris, verdi⁓grease, a *Spanish greene. 1648 Hexham ii, Spaensch Groen, Spanish Greene. |
| 1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales i. 10 Playing remarkably well on the guitar—not the trumpery German thing so called—but the real *Spanish guitar. 1934 S. R. Nelson All about Jazz ii. 54 The Spanish Guitar, with its resonant tone and range, has created a minor revolution in the ranks of the fretted instrument players. 1961 A. Birch in A. Baines Mus. Instruments through Ages vii. 168 At some point during the sixteenth century a fifth course became standard for guitar in Spain... It was this new five-course instrument which was to carry the name of ‘Spanish guitar’. |
| 1784 E. Sheridan Jrnl. 1 Oct. (1960) 26, I found a *Spanish hat was what I must bye... Even silk Balloons are almost out—I have not seen a Cap since I came. 1840 Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. XXI. 688/1 A ricketty lay-figure, in a Spanish hat and cloak. 1882 C. M. Yonge Unknown to Hist. II. iv. 47 Captain Fortescue..a long plume in his Spanish hat. 1960 C. W. Cunnington et al. Dict. Eng. Costume 201/2 Spanish hat,..a large hat of velvet, satin or sarcenet, the brim evasé, trimmed with feathers. 1980 A. Crawley Dial 200–200 xi. 119 Maria, looking fabulous in her white satin bolero, tight trousers and black Spanish hat. |
| 1918 Policeman's Monthly Oct. 4/2 The members of the Hartford department comprise the motor-cycle squad, one of whom was a victim of *Spanish influenza this week. 1940 N. & Q. 30 Mar. 218/1 The ravages of the ‘Spanish influenza’ which, between 1918 and 1922, caused four times as many deaths as those caused by the last war. 1976 Botham & Donnelly Valentino viii. 64 The worst Spanish influenza epidemic since the turn of the century had swept through California. |
| 1803 Med. Jrnl. X. 166 The insertion in the Schedule [of the Medicine Act of 1802] of such names as *Spanish juice, refined liquorice [etc.]. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. ii. 166 Spanish juice is the sweet extract of the Liquorice-root..evaporated to dryness. 1750– *Spanish liquorice [see liquorice 1]. |
| 1884 E. L. Anderson Mod. Horsem. ii. xvii. 145 The *Spanish march should be practised at a very slow walk, and the horse well supported by the hand. |
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, *Spanish-money, fair Words and Compliments. |
| 1886 S. T. Rorer Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Bk. 260 (heading) *Spanish omelet. 1935 S. Lewis It can't happen Here xxv. 270 One eye was..so surrounded with bruised flesh that..it looked like a Spanish omelet. 1974 A. Williams Gentleman Traitor xv. 248 He..had the African cook prepare him a Spanish omelette. |
| 1788 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 2), *Spanish Padlock, a kind of girdle contrived by jealous husbands of that nation, to secure the chastity of their wives. |
| 1668 Charleton Onomast. 303 Bianca Alexandrina,..*Spanish Paint for Ladies. |
| 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 155 The women of Spaine are also great painters, other Nations having learnt from them the use of *Spanish-paper. Ibid. 156 Now they have too little colour, then Spanish-paper, Red-leather and other Cosmetical Rubriques must be had. |
| 1624 Ford Sun's Darling ii. i, A French Gentleman that trayls a *Spanish pike, a Tailor. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 640 *Spanish Reef, the yards lowered on the cap. Also, a knot tied in the head of the jib. |
| 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 191 For light lines, on which the poles need not be inserted to a greater depth than four feet, the *Spanish Spoon answers the purpose..very fairly. |
| c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 908 The *spanische sworde, la rapiere. |
| [1904 F. E. Kidder Architect's & Builder's Pocket-bk. (ed. 14) iii. 1430 Galvanized-iron tiles of the ‘Spanish’ pattern.] 1913 ― Building-Construction & Superintendence (ed. 9) ii. iv. 278 The rafters..are covered with Ludovici interlocking *Spanish tiles set on the ‘shiplap’ roof⁓boarding. 1956 E. Molloy Builders' & Decorators' Ref. Bk. xvii. 3 The English pantile..is a descendant of the Spanish tile.., also called the over-and-under tile. 1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen (Advt. Suppl.) 28 Apr. 16/4 High beamed ceilings, brick floors, French doors, and Spanish tile all help in adding southwestern flavor to a contemporary look. |
| 1884 E. L. Anderson Mod. Horsemanship ii. xvii. 143 The *Spanish Trot is an exaggerated action in which, at each stride, a fore-leg is thrust boldly to the front, and there is a poise or half halt as the horse is in air. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., *Spanish, or King of Spain's Trumpeter, an ass when braying. |
| 1967 Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 21 May 39 They never seem to get *Spanish tummy, and their children are never overtired brats. 1968 A. Brown Slay me Suddenly ix. 129 ‘Where's Herbert?’ ‘Vomiting... Spanish tummy, I suppose.’ |
| 1937 H. Nicolson Diary 27 July (1966) 310 He [sc. Anthony Eden] thinks that the *Spanish War will last another year. 1977 C. McCarry Secret Lovers x. 130 Is it a good book? You said you were in the Spanish war. |
| 1852 tr. Ida Pfeiffer's Journ. Iceland 56 Our decks were washed by a great many *Spanish waves. Note. The large waves which approach from the westward are called by the sailors Spanish waves or billows. 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 22 Tumbling about on the top of the great Atlantic rollers—or Spanish waves, as they are called—until I thought the ship would roll the masts out of her. |
| 1546 Invent. Ch. Goods Sussex 106 For *Spaynysch whytt, vjs vj{supd}. 1686 Phil. Trans. XVI. 26 Spanish white made of Chalk and Alum burnt together. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 313 This is the magistery of bismuth, used by ladies for a cosmetic; and is termed, by artists, Spanish white. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 755 The varnish,..when quite dry, [is] cleaned with starch or Spanish white. 1882 Notes on Cerem. (ed. 2) 44 note, The very best white flour,..either that known as ‘Spanish whites’, or else ‘Hungarian flour’. |
| 1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 290 *Spanish-windlass, a wooden roller having a rope wound about it, through the bight of which rope an iron bolt is inserted as a lever for heaving it round. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 29 Heave both parts of the strop together with a Spanish windlass. |
| 1875 Carpentry & Join. 15 The mahogany being what is often called cedar, to distinguish it from the very hard *Spanish wood. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 301 This camera is..made of Spanish wood. |
| 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), *Spanish-Wool, a parcel of Wool so coloured by Spanish Art, and therefore so called, that it imparts its tincture to Ladies [etc.]. 1838 Penny Mag. 1 Dec. 467/2 Two other preparations, called Spanish wool and Oriental wool, have been long known to..the dealers and consumers of rouge. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., *Spanish worm, a nail, so called by carpenters when they meet one in a board they are sawing. |
8. a. In the specific names or designations of animals, birds, fish, etc.
Spanish Merino = merino 1;
Spanish sheep, (
a)
= merino 1; (
b)
= Jacob 4.
A number of others, chiefly West Indian and Bermudan fish names, are given in American Dicts.
| (a) 1668 Charleton Onomast. 74 Perdix Ruffa..the Spanish Partridge. a 1705 Ray Syn. Avium & Piscium (1713) 184 Icterus minor nidum suspendens... The Watchy Picket, or Spanish Nightingale. The Amerian Hang-nest. 1731 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds I. 87 The Spanish Goose, or Swan Goose. Anser cygnoides. 1781 Pennant Genera Birds Pl. 13 Spanish Duck. 1849 D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. 25 In the Spanish fowl, the comb is more developed than in any other breed. 1854 L. A. Meall Moubray's Poultry 248 Spanish Runt.—Described as the largest of the Runts. 1894–5 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. III. 393 The Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) replaces the English bird in many parts of the Mediterranean region. |
| (b) 1648 Hexham ii, Een Spaensche Zee-katte, a Spanish Cat. a 1672– Spanish mackerel [see mackerel1 2]. 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 104 The Spanish Bream, Pagellus erythrinus. 1882 Jordan & Gilbert Syn. Fishes N. Amer. 669 Sebastodes rubrivinctus, Spanish Flag. Ibid. 887 Clupea pseudohispanica, Spanish Sardine. Ibid. 939 Scarus radians, Spanish Porgy. 1885 A. Brassey In the Trades xvii, The..little blue and yellow Spanish angel-fish [Holocanthus tricolor]. 1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 205 In this limpid pool were many gorgeously-colored species,..the rainbow-fish, the Spanish-lady [Bodianus rufus]. |
| (c) 1787 Young's Ann. Agric. VIII. 197 Four shepherds, and from four to six large Spanish dogs. 1788 W. B. Conyngham Let. 28 June in H. B. Carter His Majesty's Spanish Flock (1964) iii. 60 In answer to what Evidence I have relative to the success of my Cross from the Spanish sheep I have..the greatest Reason to believe that the Breed may be greatly improved. 1801 Shaw Gen. Zool. II. ii. 391 The principal distinction of the Spanish Sheep is the fineness of the fleece, and the horizontally extended spire of the horns. 1802 F. L. Humphreys Life D. Humphreys II. 346 A Gold Medal..is presented to you..for your patriotic exertions in introducing into New-England one hundred of the Spanish Merino breed of Sheep. 1827 Griffith tr. Cuvier V. 172 Spanish Cat... Fur short; feet and lips flesh-colour. 1831 Ibid. IX. Syn. 35 Spanish Lizard, Lacerta (Psammodromus) Hispanicus. 1837 [see pointer 4]. 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 837 We are informed by a large importer that the Spanish Leech was a small green Leech brought here occasionally..by sea-captains. 1891 R. Wallace Rural Economy Austral. & N.Z. xxvi. 357 The Spanish Merino is a sheep of large size, producing a superior quality of strong combing wool. 1894 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. II. 237 The Spanish wild goat inhabits the Pyrenees [etc.]. 1896 Ibid. V. 71 The Spanish terrapin (Clemmys leprosa), of Spain and North-Western Africa. 1913 Spanish sheep [see Jacob 4]. 1964 H. B. Carter His Majesty's Spanish Flock p. x, These were the men who..transformed the Spanish Merino from an envied monopoly of one nation into the essential foundation of the modern world trade in wool. 1974 Times 25 Nov. 3/3 There are now about 150 registered flocks [of Jacob sheep] in Britain, comprising 3,000 spotty sheep, also known as Spanish or piebald. |
b. Esp.
Spanish fly,
= cantharides. Also
fig. So
Du. spaansche vlieg, G.
spanische fliege, F.
mouche d'Espagne, etc.
| a 1634 Chapman Alphonsus iii. i. 179 Drink not, Prince Palatine, throw it on the ground. It is not good to trust his Spanish flies. 1681 Grew Musæum i. §vii. ii. 168 The common slender Spanish-Fly. Cantharis vulgaris. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull Postscr., He procured Spanish flies to blister his neighbours. 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. x. (1818) I. 317 Another species of Mylabris.., which is fully as efficacious as the common Spanish fly. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 105 The Canthárides, or Spanish blister-flies, are an essential article of medicine. 1861 Hulme tr. Moquin-Tandon ii. iii. iii. 128 Common Cantharides:..commonly called Cantharides of the shops, Spanish Fly, Cantharides Fly. |
| transf. 1823 Byron Juan ix. xxviii, None, save the Spanish fly and Attic bee, As yet are strongly stinging to be free. |
9. In the names of plants, trees, etc., denoting either varieties or distinct species found in Spain or Spanish America (
esp. the West Indies), as
Spanish arbor-vine,
Spanish ash,
Spanish briar,
Spanish campion,
Spanish cane,
Spanish cardon,
Spanish catchfly,
Spanish coffee,
Spanish oak,
Spanish onion, etc.
Spanish bayonet (see
bayonet n. 5);
Spanish bean, (
a) a variety of broad bean; (
b)
U.S., the scarlet runner (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
Spanish beard U.S., the epiphytic plant,
Tillandsia usneoides, of the Southern States; long-beard;
† Spanish bell, some garden flower, ?
Campanula hispanica (
cf. G.
spanische glocke);
Spanish bluebell = Spanish squill below;
Spanish cedar, a species of Central American cedar,
esp. Cedrela mexicana, or its timber;
Spanish chestnut,
cress (see
quots.);
Spanish dagger (see
quot. 1866); also more generally, one of several species of
Yucca,
esp. Y. gloriosa;
Spanish elm, an evergreen timber-tree (
Cordia Geraschanthus) of the West Indies;
Spanish garlic, the rocambole;
Spanish grass, Esparto grass;
Spanish harebell = Spanish squill below;
Spanish hedge-nettle (see
quot.);
Spanish iris, a bulbous iris of the genus
Xiphium,
esp. X. vulgare (formerly
Iris Xiphium);
Spanish moss,
= Spanish beard;
Spanish needles, the American plant
Bidens bipinnata or its prickly fruit;
Spanish nut, (
a) an iridaceous plant,
Moræa sisyrinchium, the bulbs of which are eaten in Spain; (
b) a variety of hazel-nut,
Corylus colurna;
† Spanish pick-tooth (see
quot.);
Spanish plum = plum n. 3 b;
Spanish potato: (see
potato n. 3 a);
Spanish soldier = Spaniard 3 a;
Spanish squill, a bulbous plant,
Endymion hispanicus (formerly
Scilla hispanica), bearing loose racemes of blue, pink, or white bell-shaped flowers;
Spanish stopper = gurgeon stopper s.v. gurgeon;
cf. stopper n. 8;
† Spanish trumpet, the jonquil;
Spanish viper's grass, scorzonera,
esp. S. hispanica or black salsify. See also
Spanish broom.
A number of others are given in American Dicts., as
Spanish berries,
Spanish bluebell,
Spanish buckeye, etc.
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Convolvulus, Great American Bindweed.., commonly call'd *Spanish Arbor-Vine, or Spanish Woodbind. 1846 Lindley Veg. Kingd. 631 Ipomœa tuberosa, the Spanish Arbour Vine of Jamaica. |
| 1716 Petiveriana i. 178 *Spanish Ash... Caroba Barbad. |
| 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. 472 Yucca gloriosa and Y. aloifolia (*Spanish Bayonet). 1865– [see bayonet n. 5]. |
| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. 96 *Spanish, Sandwich, Windsor Beans. |
| 1763 tr. La Page du Pratz's Hist. Louisiana II. iv. 37 The other excrescence is commonly found upon trees near the banks of rivers and lakes. It is called *Spanish beard. 1784 Smyth Tour in U.S. I. 372 Another very singular and striking appearance is a kind of Moss, here [Mississippi] called Spanish Beards. 1812 Brackenridge Views of Louisiana (1814) 42 The long moss, or Spanish beard, begins to be seen below the Arkansas. 1867 Latham Black & White 118 The white oaks and cypresses in the swamps are hung with ‘Indian moss’, also called ‘Spanish beard’, a grey pendent lichen. |
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 215 August. Flowers in Prime, or yet lasting... *Spanish Bells [etc.]. |
| 1924 L. H. Bailey Man. Cultivated Plants 164 *Spanish Bluebell..fl[ower]s blue to rose-purple, usually a dozen or more, ascending or nodding in an open raceme. 1979 Guardian 5 June 10/1 Large white butterflies..thrusting their long tongues into the Spanish bluebells. |
| 1716 Petiveriana i. 177 Barbadoes *Spanish Briar. |
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Lychnis, *Spanish Campion, with a red Valerian Leaf, and a purplish Flower. |
| 1703 Art's Improv. I. 63 A slip of hollow *Spannish-Cane, brought to a smooth and sharp edge. |
| 1699 Evelyn Acetaria 10 The *Spanish Cardon, a wild and smaller Artichoak, with sharp pointed Leaves. 1707 Mortimer Husb. 450 Cardons Spanish are only propagated by Seed that is of a longish Oval form. |
| 1738 Phil. Trans. XL. 457 Lychnis Viscosa... Anglicè *Spanish Catch-fly. |
| 1907 *Spanish cedar [see cigar-box s.v. cigar 2]. 1947 J. C. Rich Materials & Methods of Sculpture x. 287 Spanish cedar is not a true cedar variety, but the wood is favored by some sculptors for carving. 1972 Handbk. of Hardwoods (Forest Prod. Res. Lab.) (ed. 2) 53 ‘Central American cedar’ is sometimes called ‘Spanish cedar’ in reference to the former Spanish colonies. |
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 207 Cherries.., the Common Cherry, *Spanish Black. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 145 There are many sorts of Cherries, as the..Spanish, Amber, Nonsuch. |
| 1699 Evelyn Acetaria 18 The sweet aromatick *Spanish Chervile. |
| 1762 Ann. Reg. i. 119 For sowing the greatest number of *Spanish chesnut-trees. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 80 The sweet, or Spanish chesnut, is very much like oak. 1880 Bessey Botany 478 Castanea vesca, the so-called Spanish Chestnut, is a native of Asia Minor and the region eastward to the Himalayas. |
| 1831 Audubon Ornith. I. 181 The wild *Spanish Coffee (Cassia occidentalis)..grows chiefly in old fields in the Southern States. |
| 1887 Bentley Man. Bot. 567 Peeled Colocynth..is commonly known as Turkey Colocynth, but that imported from France and Spain is sometimes distinguished as French and *Spanish Colocynth. |
| 1823 Crabb Techn. Dict. II. s.v., *Spanish Cress, the Vella annua, an annual. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 552 Lepidium Cardamines, Spanish Cress. |
| 1859 A. Van Buren Sojourn in South 108 A tall ‘*Spanish dagger’ stood leaning its crested head. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1075/2 Spanish dagger, a West Indian name for Yucca aloifolia. 1939 G. B. Pickwell Deserts 25/1 Spanish daggers bloom in deserts. 1975 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 3 Aug. 3/4 The Spanish Dagger, with fruits that are eaten raw, baked on hot stones, made into jelly or dried for winter use. |
| 1758 P. Browne Jamaica 170 *Spanish Elm or Prince-wood..is..one of the best timber woods [etc.]. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 150 Cordia Geraschanthus, Spanish-elm. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 163 Rocamboles are a sort of wild Garlick, otherwise called *Spanish Garlick. 1852 G. W. Johnson Cott. Gard. Dict. 781 Rocambole,..sometimes called Spanish Garlic. |
| 1884 De Candolle's Orig. Cultivated Pl. 250 The principal varieties of Cucurbita maxima are the great yellow gourd,..the *Spanish gourd, the turban gourd. |
| 1867 Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 6) II. 237 Esparto or *Spanish Grass. |
| 1808 Curtis's Bot. Mag. XXVIII. 1102 (heading) *Spanish Harebell. |
| 1823 Crabb Techn. Dict. II. s.v., *Spanish Hedge Nettle, the Prasium, a shrub. |
| 1863 Chambers' Encycl. V. 629/2 I. xiphium, sometimes called *Spanish I[ris]. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 276/2 The garden plants known as the Spanish iris and the English iris are both of Spanish origin. |
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 201 Prune now your *Spanish Jasmine. 1707 [see jasmine 1 a. β]. |
| 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 617 The *Spanish lentil, and the tuberous Lathyrus. |
| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. 95 Red *Spanish Lettuce. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Lychnis, The capillaceous leaved *Spanish lychnis. |
| 1823 E. James Acct. Expedition Rocky Mts. III. 220 The *Spanish moss disappears northwardly of the 33d degree of north latitude. 1856 Olmsted Slave States 373 The long, waving drapery of the tyllindria [sic], or Spanish moss. 1884 Evangelical Mag. Feb. 60 We have the ‘Old Man's Beard’, or Spanish Moss of American Forests. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 346 Bidens bipinnata, *Spanish Needles. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1075/2 Spanish needles, a name given in the West Indies to the fruits of a species of Bidens. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. lxviii. 94 *Spanish Nut hath smal grassie leaues. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 205 Ladies Slipper, Stock Gilly Flower, Spanish Nut [etc.]. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 320 Nut, Spanish, Iris. 1785 Martyn Lett. Elem. Bot. xxviii. (1794) 442 The stipules..of the Byzantine or Spanish nut, which Linnæus gives as a distinct species, are linear. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 46 Moræa sisyrinchium, Spanish-nut. |
| 1716 Petiveriana i. 179 *Spanish Oak... Caroba Barbad tetraphylla. 1717 Ibid. iii. 204 Spanish Oak. Splits very well into Clap⁓boards and Ladders. 1852 C. Morfit Tanning & Currying (1853) 98 Quercus Falcata..[is] known in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia by the name of Spanish oak. |
| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. 93 Red [and] white *Spanish Onion. 1763 Mills System Pract. Husb. IV. 34 The Spanish onion is most esteemed for it's mildness as well as size. 1806 A. Hunter Culina (ed. 3) 159 Take four Spanish..onions. |
| 1647 Hexham i. (Herbs), Pepper wort, or *Spanish Pepper. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 607 The annual capsicum, the Spanish, or Guinea pepper, C. ánnuum L., a native of South America. |
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Spanish Pick-tooth, a sort of Herb. |
| 1823 Crabb Techn. Dict. II. s.v. Spondias, The species are trees, as the..Purple Hog-Plum, or *Spanish Plum. 1864 Grisebach Flora Brit. W. Ind. 787/2 Spanish-plum, Spondias purpurea. |
| 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. 93 Black [and] White *Spanish Radish. 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Raphanus, Great round black Radish, commonly call'd The Spanish Radish. |
| 1786 Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 238 Cuttings of common, or *Spanish reed. |
| 1767 ― Ev. Man his own Gardener (1803) 671 Apples... Italian apple, *Spanish rennet, Canada rennet [etc.]. 1707 *Spanish salsify [see salsify b]. |
| 1819 Pantologia X. s.v. Scorzonera, *Spanish scorzonera, or garden viper's-grass. |
| 1901 Gardener 12 Jan. 1048 Close by..is a *Spanish Soldier.., stiff and pointed with its three-cornered stem-like leaves. |
| 1790 Curtis's Bot. Mag. IV. 128 (heading) *Spanish Squill. 1882 Garden 27 Sept. 372/1 Two or three others..continue in beauty till the first flowers of the Spanish Squill expand. 1977 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. xi. 13/2 Late—Spanish squill..and double late tulips. |
| 1883 G. O. Shields Rustlings in Rockies xxi. 195 Within the space of this five acres may be found..*Spanish stoppor [sic]. 1908, 1921 Spanish stopper [see gurgeon]. |
| 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 104 Thymus Zygis. White *Spanish Thyme. |
| 1591 Percivall Span. Dict., Mielgas, *spanish trefoyle, Herba medica. 1623 Minsheu, Mielgas, an herbe called Spanish trefoile, or three leafed grasse. |
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 198 March Flowers in Prime, or yet lasting,..*Spanish Trumpets or Junquils [etc.]. |
| 1852 G. W. Johnson Cott. Gard. Dict. 837 *Spanish Viper's Grass, Scorzonera. 1875 *Spanish willow [see Spaniard 3 b]. 1731 *Spanish woodbine [see S. arbor-vine above]. |
10. Comb., as
Spanish-barrelled,
Spanish-born,
Spanish-built,
Spanish-looking,
Spanish-speaking,
Spanish-surnamed adjs.| a 1628 F. Grevil Life Sidney (1907) 104 Resolutely oppose those Spanish-born, or Spanish-sworn Tyrannies. c 1677 in Marvell Growth Popery (1678) 61 A Spanish built Ship. 1812 Scott Let. in Lockhart (1839) III. 390, I have got Rob Roy's gun, a long Spanish-barrelled piece. 1818 ― Rob Roy xxxi, Levelling their long Spanish-barrelled guns. 1871 Kingsley At Last x, A shrewd Spanish-speaking school⁓master. 1875 Ruskin Fors Clav. lvi, Mr. Peter Domecq was, I believe, Spanish born. 1944 N. Coward Star Quality (1951) 85 Rather a good Spanish-looking sideboard. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 2-a/1 In what was called the first tabulation of Latino ‘segregation trends’, the study also said segregation of Spanish-surnamed pupils increased in the 1970s in all regions of the nation. 1981 R. Rendell Put on by Cunning vii. 65 A dark, Spanish-looking girl. |
B. n. or
ellipt. 1. The Spanish language.
| 1485 Caxton Malory's Arthur Pref. 2 Bookes..as wel in duche, ytalyen, spaynysshe, and grekysshe as in frensshe. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde Prol. C viii, To speke dutche, frenche, spanissh, and dyuers other langages. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 147 Translating the Vlisses of Homer out of Greke into Spanish. 1623 Minsheu Span. Gram. Proem, Spanish is a speech, whereof in times past (in Spaine) there hath beene foure kinds vsed. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 39 The Spanish is nought else but mere Latine, take a few Morisco words away. 1706 Stevens Sp. & Eng. Dict. Pref., Neither can I allow Spanish to be as generally call'd a Corruption of Latin. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 564/1 In Spanish, we have many old Gothic words. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain iii, The magnificent tones of the Spanish sounded to great advantage amidst the shrill squeaking dialect of Portugal. |
2. In various elliptical or absolute uses:
a. Spanish persons or people; Spaniards.
† b. Spanish snuff, usually
plain Spanish.
Obs. c. (the) Spanish, hard cash, money.
slang. d. Spanish bonds or stock.
| a. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 347 There is a large river..which some Spanish were about to crosse. 1832 W. Irving in P. M. Irving Life & Lett. Washington Irving (1863) III. 43 The levee..presents the most whimsical groups of people of all nations, castes, and colors—French, Spanish, half-breeds, [etc.]. 1880 News & Press (Cimarron, New Mexico) 24 June 2/2 The famous Pecos Church, built by the Spanish in 1680. 1932 [see moment n. 1 d]. 1962 Amer. Speech XXXVII. 207 English speakers [in northern Colorado] refer to Spanish speakers as Spanish. The word Spaniard is not used. |
| b. 1681 S. Colvil Whigs Supplic. (1751) 119 Then hope triumphs, and fear doth vanish, Like grief, when it's expell'd by Spanish. 1698 Farquhar Love & a Bottle ii. ii. Wks. 1892 I. 35 The three divisions of his head were filled with orangery, bergamot, and plain Spanish. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 1 ¶3 Allowing him some Plain Spanish. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxxix, Her upper-lip contained a large quantity of plain Spanish. |
| c. 1788 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 2), Spanish, the Spanish; ready money. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. II. 122 He helps the flats out of their Spanish. 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 303 After extracting the Spanish from all his sporting acquaintance. a 1814 Sailors' Ret. ii. iii. in New Brit. Theatre II. 342, I wish you would rather give the hard Spanish. 1869 Punch 10 July 11/2. |
| d. 1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ii, The young stockbrokers used to tell us of immense bargains in Spanish, Greek, and Columbians. |
C. adv. to walk Spanish, to (cause to) walk under compulsion, properly with some one holding the collar and the seat of the trousers.
U.S.| 1848 Lowell Biglow P. Ser. i. No. ii, To..walk him Spanish clean right out o' all his homes an' houses. 1890 Voice (N.Y.) 14 Aug., [They] were hustled out of the country on an hour's notice, made to ‘walk Spanish’ in fact. |
Hence
ˈSpanishness,
ˈSpanishry, the quality of being Spanish;
ˈSpanishy a., of a Spanish type or character.
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 273 Big Spanishy eyes goggling at nothing. 1957 American Anthropologist LIX. 818 Spanish-speaking Venezuelans and ‘Spanishy’ local-born people. 1960 L. Durrell in N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 12 June vii. 1/1 We travel really to try and get to grips with this mysterious quality of ‘Greekness’ or ‘Spanishness’. 1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 May 356/5 This intense ‘Spanishry’ of Unamuno's..may be a reason..for his comparative neglect in this country. 1965 Listener 25 Nov. 873/2 In the company of the desolate Gigues, even Iberia takes on a less obvious Spanishry. 1977 V. S. Pritchett Gentle Barbarian iii. 41 Her Spanishness had its Islamic roots. 1979 B. Malamud Dubin's Lives vii. 228 She's been reading Spanish love poems... Her voice sounds Spanishy. |
Add:
[B.] [2.] e. Spanish wine.
| 1977 F. Branston Up & Coming Man xv. 172 We..broke open a fine crusted bottle of Sainsbury's Spanish which we had been hoarding against the day when we could afford to cook in wine again. 1982 J. N. Chance Hunting of Mr Exe iii. 45 ‘I have a Spanish, highly thought of by those wanting a lot for the money,’ Seth said, and..came back with..a large bottle of Spanish Burgundy. 1983 N. Freeling Back of North Wind 158 Now do you want to drink Spanish, or will you all stick to Monsieur Taittinger? |
▪ II. † ˈSpanish, n.2 Obs. rare.
[Of obscure origin.] Earth or clay unfit for brick-making.
| 1725 Act 12 Geo. I, c. 35 Several Persons..continue to make Bricks of bad Stuff and unsizeable Dimensions, and do not well burn the same; and in making thereof mix great Quantities of Soil called Spanish. Ibid., No Spanish at any time..shall be..mixed with any Brick, Earth, or Clay. |