spanish V vocab set 2.1

  • un(a) criollo(a) – a person of Spanish descent born in the Americas

  • una cuerda – a rope or cord

  • la madera – wood

  • un nudo – a knot

  • el oro – gold

  • la plata – silver

  • la precipitación – rainfall or precipitation

  • un quipu – an ancient Incan system of knotted strings used for recording information

  • el/la tejedor(a) – a weaver

  • un tejido – a woven fabric or textile

  • acomodado(a) – well-off, wealthy

  • agrio(a) – sour, bitter

  • bello(a) – beautiful

  • caluroso(a) – hot (describing weather)

  • escaso(a) – scarce, limited

  • lluvioso(a) – rainy

  • nevado(a) – snowy, snow-covered

  • apoyar – to support, to help

  • soler (ue) – to usually do something, to be accustomed to

  • subyugar – to subjugate, to dominate forcefully

  • tejer – to weave or knit


Suplementario (Page 60–69)

  • la sierra / la cordillera – a mountain range

  • la selva – the jungle, rainforest

  • la cuenca – a basin or valley

  • la Guerra del Pacífico – the War of the Pacific (Chile vs. Peru & Bolivia, 1879–1884)

Pages 62–63

  • la orilla – the shore, riverbank, or edge

  • el Inca – the emperor of the Inca Empire

  • el ayllu – the basic Incan family/community unit

  • Inti – the Incan sun god

  • Pachamama – the Incan earth goddess (Mother Earth)

  • quechua – the Incan language still spoken in the Andes

  • el chasqui – an Incan messenger who ran to deliver messages

  • la quinua – quinoa, a grain native to the Andes

Pages 64–65

  • Huáscar / Atahualpa – Incan brothers who fought for power just before the Spanish conquest

  • Francisco Pizarro – the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire

  • Cuzco – the capital city of the Inca Empire (in present-day Peru)

  • Ciudad de los Reyes – the original name of Lima, Peru

  • la encomienda – a colonial system where Spaniards received land and indigenous labor

Page 66

  • la Plaza de Armas – the main central square in Latin American cities

  • las afueras – the outskirts, suburbs of a city

Page 67

  • la materia prima – raw material

  • Simón Bolívar – South American independence leader (Venezuela, Colombia, etc.)

  • José de San Martín – independence leader for Argentina, Chile, Peru

  • Antonio José de Sucre – independence leader and ally of Bolívar

  • Ayacucho – site of the decisive battle for South American independence (1824)

Page 68

  • Chan Chan – the ancient capital city of the Chimú civilization in Peru

  • el mercado de Otavalo – a famous indigenous market in Ecuador

Page 69

  • las empanadas – stuffed pastries, usually baked or fried

  • el ceviche – raw fish marinated in citrus juice, typical of coastal Peru

  • el locro – a thick Andean soup or stew made with potatoes, corn, cheese, or meat

  • el choclo – large-kernel Andean corn

  • la palta – avocado