Spanish

[ span-ish ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Spain, its people, or their language.

noun

1. the Spanish people collectively.
2. a Romance language, the language of Spain, standard also in most of Latin America except Brazil. : Sp, Sp.

Spanish

/ ˈspænɪʃ /

noun

1. the official language of Spain, Mexico, and most countries of South and Central America except Brazil: also spoken in Africa, the Far East, and elsewhere. It is the native language of approximately 200 million people throughout the world. Spanish is an Indo-European language belonging to the Romance group
2. the Spanish
   the Spanish functioning as plural Spaniards collectively

adjective

1. of or relating to the Spanish language or its speakers
2. of or relating to Spain or Spaniards

Other Words From

• anti-Spanish adjective
• half-Spanish adjective
• non-Spanish adjective noun
• pre-Spanish adjective
• pro-Spanish adjective
• pseudo-Spanish adjective
• quasi-Spanish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Spanish¹

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; Spain, -ish ¹

Example Sentences

As India races towards the 4-million mark of Covid-19 positive cases, there are lessons its government can learn from the Spanish influenza pandemic almost a century ago.

From Quartz

In its business filings and on its website, the company — whose name is short for “oportunidad,” Spanish for opportunity — claimed to work with borrowers grappling with cash-flow problems beyond their control.

From ProPublica

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, meanwhile, is on vacation with his family and hasn’t come out to address the public even as bad news piles up.

From Fortune

The viewpoint was shared by commercial execs at the Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona.

From Digiday

After the 1570s, it was the Spanish navy that took an active interest in developing their own version of the galleon – thus leading to the Royal Galleons of the Spanish Armada.

From Realm of History

According to some rumors, Goya was once on staff before his fame as a Spanish painter.

From The Daily Beast

This concern ceased after the Spanish warned of severe punitive measures on the family members of suicides.

From The Daily Beast

Hatuey replied that he would rather burn and be sent to hell than ever again encounter people as cruel as the Spanish.

From The Daily Beast

“They also were responsible for the Barcelona subway plot,” a plan disrupted by Spanish law enforcement in 2008.

From The Daily Beast

Any conversation about Spanish-speaking politicians leads back to Bush.

From The Daily Beast

The seed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of the Spanish lay and clerical authorities.

From Project Gutenberg

Like every other Spanish general in supreme command abroad, Polavieja had his enemies in Spain.

From Project Gutenberg

He has secured the release of certain Spanish prisoners, and is building two ships.

From Project Gutenberg

The cathedral is the only Spanish parochial church; it cares for two thousand four hundred souls.

From Project Gutenberg

The total fresh troops amounted to about 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish cazadores.

From Project Gutenberg

What Is The Plural Of Spanish?

Plural word for Spanish

The plural form of Spanish can be Spanishes. This is used to refer to different varieties of the Spanish language, as in The Spanishes of Spain and Mexico are quite different. 

Phrases like varieties of Spanish and Spanish dialects are probably more commonly used to refer to multiple versions of the language, but the plural Spanishes is perfectly acceptable.