Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries

Most people know that words like burrito and quesadilla come from Spanish but there are many more English words that we would never suspect are Spanish until we look closely. Did you know that the words breeze and hammock come from Spanish? The jerky in beef jerky for example is from Spanish charqu and the English verb vamoose is from the expression ?Vamos! which means Lets go! in Spanish.Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries: English Words that Come from Spanish tells the fascinating stories behind 200 English words from Spanish. Every sphere of English vocabulary has been enriched by Spanish from names for animalsalligator coyote and mosquitoto words for weatherhurricane and tornado. This book also explores the Spanish origin of some of the colorful expressions of the Old West: bonanza loco mustang ranch and ten-gallon hat. Of course the book digs into the many words for different foods that come from Spanishnot only the obvious ones such as salsa and taco but also potato tomato caramel vanilla and most important chocolate. Photographs and line drawings enliven the pages and illustrate the history of the words.