List of Spanish words of Celtic origin

From English:

• túnel "tunnel"

From French:

• bachiller "graduate", from French bachelier and this from late Latin baccalaureatus "bachelor".
• batalla "battle". From bataille from battualia "military drill in fencing," from Latin battuere, see batir below.
• billar "billiard".
• brigada "brigade"
• broche "brooch, clasp, clip". From Old French broche "a spit," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca "a nail, spike," from Latin broccus, brocchus "a nail, projecting (adj.), buck-toothed (adj.)" from Celtic (*)brokko- "a pin, badger."
• coñac "brandy"
• crema "cream" from French crème
• debate "dispute, quarrel". from Old French debat "discussion, controversy, contest" (Modern French débat, from debattre, debatre, "to fight, wrestle, struggle," from de- + battre, batre "to fight, strike," from Latin battere, battuere, see batir above.
• dolmen from French dolmen
• embajador "ambassador" and this from gaulish ambi-actos "who serves around".
• jabalina, from Middle French javeline, diminutive of javelot; akin to Irish gabhla "spear", Welsh gaflach "dart", Breton gavelod
• tenería "tannery", from French tannerie, from tan "tanbark"; akin to Breton tann "red oak", Old Cornish tannen, Old and Modern Irish tinne "mass of metal from furnace; metal bar, ingot"; (ogham letter) "holly, elder".
• pingüino "penguin" from fr. pingouin.
• tonel "barrel" from French tonel and this from Celtic *tunna "skin"
• tonelada "ton" see *tonel
• truhán "buffoon, jester" from French truand

From Italian:

• brocado "brocade". From Italian broccato, from brocco "a twist thread, shoot, sprout," see bróculi below.
• brócoli "broccoli". From Italian broccoli, plural of broccolo, "sprout of cabbage/turnip" diminutive of brocco "shoot, sprout," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca, see broche above.

From Late or Vulgar Latin:

• abedul "birch tree" from late Latin betula "birch", diminutive of Gaulish betuā "birch"; akin to Old Irish bethe, Irish/Scottish beith, Manx beih, Welsh bedw, Breton bezv. The a of abedul is by the influence of Spanish abeto "fir tree.
• álamo "white poplar"
• alondra "lark" (OSp aloa) from gaulish alauda
• alosa "shad"
• ambuesta
• amelga "plot of land marked for planting"
• añicos "shards, smithereens"
• arpende "arpent" (OSp arapende) from Latin arapennis "old measure"
• banzo "cross-bar" from common Celtic wankios}
• baranda "railing, balustrade"
• bazo "spleen" from Latin badios "red"
• beleño "henbane" from gaulish beleniom "henbane"
• belesa "leadwort"
• berrendo "bicolor(ed) (animal); pronghorn bull"
• berro "watercress" from common Celtic *beruro "watercress"
• berrueco, barrueco "granitic crag, irregular pearl, round nodule"
• betún "tar" from Latin *bitumen
• bezo "big lip"
• bodollo "pruning hook"
• boque/*buco "billy-goat, buck"
• bosta "dung" from *boud-sta (PIE *gwou- "excrement") Proto-Celtic: boud-ro "dirty"
• breca "common pandora" from Celtic *brĭcco "spotted, speckled"
• OSp bren "bran; filth"
• breña "scrubland"
• brezo "heather"
• británico "British"
• brizo "cradle, lap"
• bruja "witch"
• buco "billy goat" from a Celtic *bukko
• bustar "cow pasture"
• camba "standard, sheth (of plow)", cambija "water tower"
• cambriano "Cambrian"
• camino "way" from Celtic *camanos through lat. caminus
• cantiga "song"
• carro "cart"
• cayo
• centollo "spider crab"
• colmado
• colmena "beehive"
• combleza "mistress, home-wrecker"
• correa "belt"
• corro "circle"
• cresa "maggot"
• cueto "hillock"
• duerna "trough"
• embarazar
• engorar "to addle"
• eranela
• galga "large stone"
• gallardo "gaillard" from French gaillard
• gancho "hook"
• garra "claw, talon"
• garza "heron"
• gavilla "handful, fagot"
• germánico "Germanic"
• gladíola/gladiola
• greña "stubborn or tangled hair"
• gubia through the Latin gulbia from Celtic *gulbia
• güero ~ huero "vain, vacuous, without substance"
• landa "open field"
• lanza "lance"
• lanzar "to launch"
• lata "tin, tin can"
• légamo "slime, mud"
• legua "league (unit)"
• lía "dregs, lees"
• llanta
• loja, locha
• losa "flagstone" from hisp-Celtic *lausa "flagstone"
• mina "mine" through the Latin mina. However asturian mena 'vein' directly from Celtic *mena.
• páramo "moorland"
• pieza "piece" from Celtic *pĕttĭa through the Latin pĕtia.
• pingüino "penguin"
• pinzón "finch"
• pote "pot"
• quéjigo "Portuguese oak"
• raya "line"
• rodaballo "brill, seabass"
• sábalo "shad"
• sabueso "hound"
• saya "tunic", *sayo "cloak" through the Latin sagium from Celtic *sagos
• sel "mountain pasture, commons"
• serna "ploughed or sown field"
• soga "rope"
• taladro "auger, drill"
• tanino "tanine"
• tarugo "wooden peg"
• tejón "badger"
• tenería
• terco "stubborn"
• tollo "mire, muddy place"
• tona
• tranca "cudgel, club"
• trapo "rag"
• varga "straw- or thatch-roofed hut"
• varón "man"
• vasallo "vassal" from Celtic *vassallos "servant" through the Latin vassallus
• vereda "path" from Celtic *voretom through the Latin vereda "way"
• yezgo, yiezgo "dwarf elder"

• acarrear to cart, to transport: from a- + carro (see carro' below) + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• álamo "white poplar" (also Asturian llamera); akin to Irish leamhán "elm", Welsh llwyf, Cornish elow, Breton evlec'h "elm"
• alondra "lark" (OSp aloa), from Gaulish alauda "crest lark", derivative of *ala "swan", akin to Irish eala and Welsh alarch
• ambuesta, (also Catalan embosta, almosta), from Gaulish ambostā "hands together"; akin to Old Irish imbas
• amelga, (also Galician embelga) from *ambelica, from ambi "around" + el- "to go" + -ica; akin to Old Irish adellaim "to visit, go to", Welsh elo "I went", Cornish ella "he was going"
• añicos "smithereens" (also Galician anaco, Old Catalan anyoc), from *ann- + -acos
• Old Spanish arapende "arpent"; akin to Old Irish airchenn "end, extremity", Welsh arbenn "chief" and erbyn "against", Cornish erbynn "id."
• banzo "cross-bar", (also Galician banzo) from *wankio "bar, beam"; akin to Irish féige "ridgepole"
• baranda "railing, balustrade", (also Portuguese varanda, Catalan barana) from *varandā, from *rannā "part, portion"; Welsh rhan, Cornish/Breton rann, Irish roinn
• beleño "henbane", from belenion (Pseudo-Aristotle, De plantis, 7.821); akin to Welsh bela "henbane", Old Irish béal "sun"
• belga "of Belgium, a Belgian": from Latin Belga, singular of Belgae, from Gaulish Belgae, possibly meaning "the threatening (ones), the swollen (ones)," the IE root *bʰel-ǵʰ- (cf. Dutch belgen 'to worsen', originally 'to swell'), enlargement of *bʰel- "to swell" ; akin to Old Irish bolgaid '(s)he swells'.
• berrendo "bicolor; pronghorn", originally just "pronghorn", from *barrovindos "white-tipped", from *barros "tip, peak" + vindos "white"; akin to Irish/Breton barr "peak", Cornish/Welsh bar "id."; also Old Irish find, Ir/Sc fionn, Welsh gwyn, Breton gwenn
• berro "watercress", (also Galician berro) from *beruro; akin to Welsh berwr, Breton/Cornish beler, Old Irish birar, Irish biolar, Scottish Gaelic biolaire
• berrueco "granite crag, cliff", from ver "over" and rocca "rock"
• berzo (dial.) (also Old Spanish brizo, Galician berce), from *bertium "load"; akin to Irish/Scottish beárt "load", bertaim "to rock"
• bezo "big lip, lip blubber" (also Galician beizo "lip"), from OSp beço "snout", from *beiccion "animal's mouth", from *baicciō "to yell"; akin to Old Irish béccim, Irish béic ‘yell, roar’, Scottish beuc, Welsh beichio ‘to low, sob’, Cornish begi ‘to bray’, Breton begiad ‘to bleat’
• bodollo (Huesca) "pruning hook", from *vidubion (also French vouge, Occitan vezoig); akin to Welsh gwyddif "billhook", Cornish gwydhyv "id.", Irish fiodhbha "sickle", Breton gouzifiad "boar-spear"
• breña "scrubland; rocky terrain", from *brigna, from briga "fortress"; akin to Middle Irish brí, genitive brig "mountain", Scottish breaghe "fortified hill", Welsh bre "hill", bryn "id", Cornish bre, brenn "hill", Breton bre "hill", bern "brooch, prickles"
• brezo "heather" (also Navarre beruezo, Galician breixo, Asturian berezu), from OSp bruezo, from *brocceus, from brūcus, from HispCelt *vroicos; akin to Welsh/Cornish grug (< *wrūcos < *wroicos), Middle Breton groegan, Old Irish froích, fróech, Irish fraoch. Similarly, Catalan bruc, Occitan bruga, Milanese brüg < *brūca.
• bruja "witch" (also Portuguese bruxa, Aragonese broixa, Catalan bruixa), from *bruxtia, from *brixta "magic"; akin to Middle Welsh brith-ron "magic wand", Breton bre "witch, magic", breoù "spells, charms", Old Irish brichtu "charms", brigim "to light up, illuminate", Brigit "shining one".
• brusco is from Italian brusco "sharp, tart, rough" and has two possible etymologies:
  • either it is akin to Welsh brysg "nimble, lively", Irish/Scottish briosg "to be surprised, to jump for joy"
  • or it is from Medieval Latin bruscuscode: lat promoted to code: la "butcher's broom plant", a blend of Latin ruscus "butcher's broom" and Late Latin brucus "heather"
• bustar "cow pasture" (OSp busto "meadow, cowfield", Portuguese bostar, Old Galician bustocode: glg promoted to code: gl "dairy farm; herd"), from Celtiberian boustom "byre, cowshed" (Old Irish búas "wealth in cattle") and aro "field" (cf. Irish ár, Welsh âr, Cornish/Breton ar)
• camba "standard, sheth (of a plow)", cambija "water tower" (also Galician and Portuguese canga "yoke", Galician camba "wheel rim"), from *camba "crooked, bent", feminine of *cambos; akin to Old Irish camm 'crooked', Irish/Scottish cam, Welsh cam, Cornish/Breton kam "curved, bent"; Welsh camedd "tire rim", Breton kammed, both from *camijo.
• cargar= to load, to charge, to charge with a crime, to carry: from Late Latin carricare "to load," from carrus, see carro below.
• carril= a highway lane: from carro, see carro below.
• carro= cart, cartload, car, streetcar, coach: from Latin carrus from Gaulish carros, from the IE root (*)kers- "to run" .
• centollo "spider crab", (also Galician centolo, Portuguese santola) from Celtic cintu "first" + ollos "large, big", referring to the fact it is larger than more common species of crabs; akin to Breton kent "before", Cornish kens, kyns "before, early", Welsh cynt "id.", Irish céad "first"; and Middle Irish oll "big, large", Welsh/Cornish oll "all, entire"
• colmena "beehive" (also Portuguese colmeia, Galician colmea), from *colmēnā "made from straw", from *colmos "straw" (cf. Leonese cuelmo "straw"); akin to Breton kolo "stalk" (MBr koloff)
• combleza "mistress, home-wrecker", (also Old Galician combooçacode: glg promoted to code: gl ) from OSp comblueça ~ conborça, from *combortia, from *com-berō "to take"; akin to Welsh cymeryd, cymryd 'to take', Breton kemer, komer, Cornish kemeres 'to take', Irish cobirth 'help'
• combo "bent", from *combos; akin to
• correa= belt, from Gallo-Latin corrigia "strap" (compare also Galician corre "twisted twig using as a bond"); akin to Old Irish cuimrech "fetter", Scottish cuibhreach "bond, chain", Welsh cyfrwy "saddle", Middle Welsh kyfreieu "leashes", Cornish kevrenn "fastening, link", Breton kevre "link, bond"
• corro "circle"; akin to Middle Irish cor "circle", corrán "sickle", Welsh cor "circle", Cornish kor "hedge, boundary; turn, shift"
• cresa "maggot" (also Galician careixa), older queresa "maggot", from *carisia "decay"; akin to Old Irish doro-chair "to fall", Irish torchair, Scottish torchuir
• duerna "trough" (also Galician dorna), from *durnos "hand"; akin to Irish dorn, Welsh dwrn, Breton dourn
• engorar "to addle", in OSp "to brood" (also Galician gorar "to brood, sit on eggs"); akin to Old Irish gorid 'to warm', Welsh/Cornish gori 'to brood, sit (on eggs)', Breton goriñ
• galga "large stone", from *gallicā, from *gallos; akin to Old Irish gall 'stone pillar', gallán 'standing stone'
• gancho "hook" (also French jachère "fallow field"), from *ganscio "small curved branch"; akin to Old Irish gesca "branch"
• garra "claw, talon"; akin to Welsh gar "leg", Corn/Bret garr "leg, stalk, stem", Old Irish gairri "calves of the leg", Irish caracode: gle promoted to code: ga
• garza "heron" (also Portuguese garça), from *cárcia; akin to Welsh crychydd, Cornish kerghydh, Breton kerc'heiz
• gavilla "handful", from gabella, from *gabali; akin to Irish gabhaim "to take", Welsh gafael "to grasp, hold", Cornish gavel; also Welsh gefel "tongs", Breton/Cornish gevel, Old Irish gabál
• greña (OSp greñón "hair, beard"), from *grennos; akin to Old Irish grend "beard", Irish greann, Welsh grann "eyelid", Breton gourenn
• gubia "gouge" (also Portuguese goiva, French gouge), from *gulbia; akin to Old Irish gulba "sting", Scottish gilb "chisel", Old Welsh gilb "piercer", Welsh gylf "beak", Old Breton golb "beak", Breton golv "tailless"
• güero ~ huero "vain, vacuous, without substance", from dialectal gorar "to brood, sit on eggs" (see engorar above)
• legua "league", from Late Latin leucas; akin to Old Irish líe (gen. líac) "stone", Irish liag
• ía "dregs, lees", légamo "slime, mud" (liga ~ lidia ~ liria "birdlime", Basque lekeda), from *liga; Old Breton leh 'silt, deposit', Breton lec'hi 'dregs', Welsh llai 'silt, deposit'
• Old Spanish mañero 'sterile, infertile', from *mannuarius, derivative of Latin mannus 'dwarf horse' (cf. Portuguese maninho 'sterile'), from Gaulish *mandos (cf. Basque mando 'mule')
• mina "mine", from *mēna (also Asturian mena "vein"), from *meina "ore"; akin to Welsh mwyn "ore", Cornish moen, Irish míanach
• páramo "moor", attested as parami, from *par- + -amus (superlative).[1]
• pinzón "finch" (var. pinchón; also Catalan pinsà, Occitan quinçon, Tuscan pincióne) from Gaulish pinciō(ne); akin to Welsh pinc, Breton pint
• quejigo "Portuguese oak", from earlier cajigo, from Asturian caxigu (also Aragonese caxico, caixico "oak", Galician caxigo "Portuguese oak"), from *cass- (cf. Gascon casse, French chêne) + -ico; akin to Middle Irish cas "curly, gnarled", cassaim "to bend", Irish cas "to twist, turn, spin", Old Welsh cascord, Welsh cosgordd "twist"
• rodaballo "brill, seabass", from *rota-ballos "round-limbed", from rota "wheel, circle" + ballos "limb"; akin to Old Irish roth, Welsh rhod, Cornish ros, Breton rod and Irish ball "limb", Welsh balleg ‘sack, purse’, Cornish ballek ‘bow-net’
• sábalo "shad" (also Portuguese sável, Catalan saboga, Galician sable), from *sabolos; akin to Old Irish sam "summer", Welsh haf, Breton hañv, Cornish hav, with typical Celtic m > b lenition
• saya; akin to Middle Irish sén "snare", semmen "rivet", Welsh hoenyn "snare", hemin "rivet"
• sel, from *sedlon "seat"; akin to Old Welsh hadl
• serna "tilled or sown field" (also Old Galician senaracode: glg promoted to code: gl , Galician senra, Portuguese seara), from *senaro, from *sen "separate, apart" + *aro "field"; akin to Old Irish sain "alone", Welsh han "other", Cornish honan "self, one's own", and Irish ár, Welsh âr, Cornish/Breton ar.
• soga (also Portuguese/Italian soga, Old French seuwe), from Gaulish *sōca; akin to Welsh/Cornish syg "chain", Breton sug "harness trace", Irish suag "rope", Scottish sùgan "straw rope"
• taladro, (also Galician trado) from *taratron; akin to Welsh taradr "drill", Irish tarachair, Cornish tarder, Breton tarar
• tarugo, from *tarūcon; akin to Scottish tarag, tarrag "nail, stud"
• tejón "badger" (also Portuguese texugo, Catalan teixó, toixó, Old French taisson, Italian tasso), from OSp texón, from Gaulish *taskios; akin to Old Irish (person's name) Tadg "badger", Scottish taghan "marten", Old Welsh (person's name) Teuhuant
• terco "stubborn" (also Catalan enterch 'stiff, rigid', Béarnais terc 'cruel, treacherous', Italian terchio, tirchio 'miserly, crude'), from *tercos; akin to Middle Irish terc, Welsh taerc 'miserly, scarce'
• tollo "mire, muddy place" (also Catalan toll "pool in a river", Galician tol "dam"), from *tollos; akin to Irish/Cornish toll "hole", Welsh twll, Breton toull
• tona, from Galician tona "skin, bark", from Gaulish *tunna, "skin, hide, rind"; akin to Old Irish tonn "skin, surface", Irish tonn "hide, skin", Welsh ton "skin", Cornish ton "surface", Breton tonnen "rind, surface". From the same source came Late Latin tunna 'wine-cask',[2] whence French tonne 'tun' (wine-cask)', tonneau 'barrel'.
• tranca "club, cudgel" (also Portuguese tarenco, Galician tranca "door bolt"), from *tarinca; akin to Old Irish tairinge "iron nail, tine", Irish tairne "metal nail", Scottish tairnge "nail"
• truhán "jester, baffoon" (also Portuguese truhão, Galician trogo "sadness, pity", French truand "vagrant, beggar"); akin to Old Irish tróg "miserable", Irish trogha, Scottish truagh, Welsh tru "wretched", Breton truc "beggar", Cornish troc "miser; wretched"
• varga (also Portuguese/Catalan barga "wattle hut", dial. French barge "haybale, straw heap"), from barga (Lat fundus bargae, in Tabula Veleiana, c. a.d. 2nd century); akin to Middle Irish barc "fort; woodhouse"
• yezgo, yiezgo "elder" (also Asturian eldu, Galician engo, Occitan augué, êgou), from older yedgo, iedgo, from *edecus, alteration of Gaulish odecus, odicus (Marcellus Empiricus, De medicamentis liber, 7.13), which was also loaned into German Attich "dwarf elder, danewort", Old Saxon aduk, Dutch hadik.

• abatir to lower, to knock down, to humble: from Vulgar Latin abbattuere to demolish, knock down, overthrow: from ad- + Latin battuere, see batir below. The d is assimilated to the b in battuere.
• abomaso abomasum: from Modern Latin abomasum (first used in English in 1706) from Latin ab- + omasum "intestine of an ox," possibly from Gaulish.
• abrochar to button, fasten: from a- + broche "a button" (see broche below) + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• atolladero a muddy place, bog: from atollar "to dirty to soil," from a- + tollo "mire, muddy place" (possibly from a Celtic word represented in Old Irish toll "hole, pit, grave") + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• bachiller a bachelor: from Old French bacheler "bachelor, young man, young gentleman" (Modern French bachelier), from Medieval Latin "an advanced student, farmer," probably from Celtic, possibly related to Irish bachlach "rural dweller, farmer."
• batalla battle, struggle: from Vulgar Latin (*)battalia "combat," from Late Latin battualia "military drill in fencing," from Latin battuere, see batir below.
• batería battery: from French batterie (originally referred to a battery of kitchen utensils made with a hammer), from battre, from Latin battere, battuere, see batir below.
• batir to hit, strike: from Latin battere, battuere, "to beat, strike," probably of Celtic origin.
• batuta an orchestra conductor's baton: from Italian battuta, from battere, from Latin battere, battuerre, see batir above.
• bohemio a bohemian, of Bohemia, vagabond, eccentric, Gitano, Gypsy: from bohemio/Bohemia (from the belief that the Gitanos came from Bohemia), from Latin Boihaemum, literally "place of the Boi/Boii", from tribal name Boii + -haemum from Germanic *xaim- "home" (see bohemio here). The etymology of Boii is disputed, either "cattle-owners" or "warriors, strikers".
• brécoles broccoli
• británico from Latin britannicus, from Britannia; akin to Welsh pryd "form", Irish cruth
• broca from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca "a nail

brocado a brocade: from Italian broccato, from brocco "a twist thread, shoot, sprout," see bróculi below.

• broche brooch, clasp, clip, fastener: from Old French broche "a spit," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca "a nail, spike," from Latin broccus, brocchus "a nail, projecting (adj.), buck-toothed (adj.)" from Celtic (*)brokko- "a pin, badger."
• bróculi broccoli: from Italian broccoli, plural of broccolo, "sprout of cabbage/turnip" diminutive of brocco "shoot, sprout," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca, see broche above.
• combatir to engage in combat, to fight: from com- + see batir above.
• conejo rabbit: Iberian or Celtiberian; cf Irish coinín, Cornish conyn, Manx coneeyn, Gaelic coineanach, Welsh cwningen.
• debate a debate, dispute, quarrel: from Old French debat "discussion, controversy, contest" (Modern French débat), from debattre, debatre, "to fight, wrestle, struggle," from de- + battre, batre "to fight, strike," from Latin battere, battuere, see batir above.
• embarazar (1) to impregnate or (2) to hamper, or to hinder. From the Portuguese embaraçar, which probably is a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin im- for "in-") with baraça "a noose", or "rope". Baraça originated before the Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC.
• jabalina, from Middle French javeline, diminutive of javelot; akin to Irish gabhla "spear", Welsh gaflach "dart", Breton gavelod
• teneria "tannery", from French tannerie, from tan "tanbark"; akin to Breton tann "red oak", Old Cornish tannen, Old and Modern Irish tinne "mass of metal from furnace; metal bar, ingot; (ogham letter) "holly, alder".

• Linguistic history of Spanish
• List of Galician words of Celtic origin
• List of Spanish words of Basque/Iberian origin
• List of English words of Spanish origin
• Lists of English words of Celtic origin
• List of French words of Gaulish origin

• Cornelius Joseph Crowly, "New Linguistic Date for Hispano-Celtic: An Evaluation", Bono Homini Donum: Essays in Historical Linguistics in Memory of J. Alexander Kerns, vol. 1, ed., Yoël L. Arbeitman & Allan R. Bomhard (Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1981), pp. 73–85.
• Guido Gómez de Silva, Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española (ISBN 968-16-2812-8)
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edn. (2000).