Let me just punish you with another vocabulario, a Spanish-Tagalog dictionary, fallen apart at the seams, corners eaten away by termites. I always assumed I knew basic Spanish but this revealed to me how little I did.
This dictionary or vocabulario was published by Libreria Martinez circa 1910 or earlier. Some of the words are archaic and so are the Tagalog spellings which follow the Spanish orthography (no Institute of National Language yet then). I found its quaintness fascinating. Although it takes a while to get used to, there is much to learn from that book.
These terms were selected from some 1,200 entries. I omitted the Spanish words whose meanings were quite obvious, including instead those whose Tagalog definitions described everyday life in the first decade of the 1900s. (For instance, they must have used a lot of umbrellas then, either for sun or rain—there are already six words for it here). I included a lot of words whose meanings have changed (arsenal used to mean “repair shop for vehicles!”). Some Spanish words were complete mystifications, as were their Tagalog definitions, such as Toldo-aragarag. Those I did not even include. Some were chosen for having become common Filipino surnames, others simply because the definitions were funny. Desembaular, for instance, seems such a formal term simply for “take out of the baul!” Or I just liked the words. Sorry, you can skip my next column, too, if you can’t stand this.
A
Aguador – mangiiguib (water carrier)
Ala – pacpac
Angusta – hinagpis
Amistad – pag-iibigan
Apacible – maamong loob
Aposento – silid; posada (inn); panunuluyan
Arbolario – mangmang na tauo; ang manga marunong sa kahoy at damo
Arillos – hicao; pananainga
Armario – aparador
Arrabal – nayon
Arroyo – batis; saloysoy
Arsenal – gauan ng mga sasacyan
Asado – inihao
Asco – diri; suclam (Kadiri to death!)
Asilo – taguan ng mga manlilingo, magnanacao, etc.
Ataud – cabaong
Augusto – cagalanggalang
B
Balde – toong (con que sacan agua); timba; de balde – walang bayad; en balde – walang paquinabang
Baldio – lupang di pinaquiquinabangan; tauong gala; lagalag
Barrer – magualis; palisan; magpunas
Barrera – lugar na quinucunan nang gagauing manga saro, palayoc, paso, banga (source of clay)
Barbara – almacen nang polvora sa manga sasakyan (store of gunpowder for artillery)
Barbaridad – cabangisan; capangahasan; gaua o uicang walang taros o walang tuto
Barquillo – matamis na tila bumbong
Basa – Puno na nababaon na pinatatatacaran or pinaninibayan nang haliguing bato or torre. Ang puno o dahilan na pinaca caloloua nang anomang bagay.
Bastidor – lalagyan nang manga casangcapang bubog; pinagpipintahan, pinagbubuldahan, etc.; tabing sa comediahan; telon. (Actually anything with a frame is a “bastidor,” from embroidery hoop to framed stage curtain).
Belleza – cariquitan; ganda
Berlina – parang coche
Biznieto – apo sa tuhod
Bosque – gubat
Brujo – hocloban; mangcuculam; asuang
Buenaventura – palad o capalaran; panghuhulang may anito
Butaca – upuang o silyang malaqui at mahaba
Buyo – icmo; hitso; mamain
C
Cabecera – olonan
Cabeza – ulo; punong namamahala
Cabildo – catipunan nang mga canonigo o punong eclesiastico
Cabron – cambing na lalaqui; ang lalaquing nagpapabayang pacalunya ang caniyang asawa
Cacho – piraso
Cafetal – capihan
Calabozo – hulo o duyo ng bilangoan
Calcetin – medias na maicli
Calva – ulong walang buhoc; upao
Calzado – pangbalot sa manga paa gaya nang zapatos, bota, etc.
Camarin – pinagtataguan sa likod ng altar nang alinmang larawan nang caniyang manga hiyas o damit (photo of saint’s jewels and vestments)
Cambalache – palitan nang manga bagay na momonting halaga
Campesino – taga parang
Capona – gauing tanda nang pagka guinoo
Caracol – suso grande – taclobo; reforcido o pilipit; reluciente pequeño – caligay; sigay
Casto – malinis; walang calibugan (no sex-capades)
Caudal – cayamanan; pagaari; salapi
Cayado – tungkod nang pastol at ng Obispo
Cubierto – cuchara, tenedor at cuchillo
Cucaracha – ipis
D
Delgado – manipis; de cuerpo – mapatpat
Decaspar – magalis na balacubac
Desembaular – kunin sa baul
Diana – tugtog nang tambol sa guerra o digma
E
Efemerides – librong quinasusulatan nang nangyayari arao-arao
Ejercito – hocbo
Espeso – malapot (as in “chocolate e”)
Estimar – halagahan; mahalin
Estrada – daan
Excremento – tae
Extramuros – labas ng ciudad
F
Febril – ang nauucol sa lagnat
Felicidad – palad
Feo – pangit; mahalay
Franco – magandang loob; tapat na loob
Frugalidad – casucatan sa pagkain, pagdaramit, etc.
Funebre – malumbay
G
Galan – butihin
Gallardo – mariquit
Garganta – liig
Gemelo – cambal
Golpear – cumatog o tumuctoc
Gorra – ang isinusuot na ibinabalot sa ulo
Gordura – taba; linaba
Grajo – uac
Grueso – malaqui; macapal; mabagal; bagol; magaspang
Grupa – ancasan o dapit puitan nang cabayo
Guardasol – payong
Guzman – sundalo nang mahal na tauo
H
Hamaca – duyan
Hechicero – mangagaway; mangcuculam
Herpes – buning balictad
Holganza – pagpapahinga at pagaalio
Honda – lambanog
Hormiga – langgam
Hospicio – bahay tahanan ng mga pulubi
I
Idolo – anito
Ilusion – camalian or pagcacamali ng bait, para nang dayang caipala, i, gauain nang diablo na panghihichurang anghel
Ilustre – dilag; madilag
Incubacion – panghalimhim nang manoc
Indugencia – pagpapatawad
Infanteria – tropang lakad