Spanish

American  

[span-ish] / ˈspæn ɪʃ /

adjective

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

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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 British  

/ 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. (functioning as plural) Spaniards collectively

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Spanish language or its speakers

2. of or relating to Spain or Spaniards

Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Spanish
  adjective
• half-Spanish
  adjective
• non-Spanish
  adjective
• pre-Spanish
  adjective
• pro-Spanish
  adjective
• pseudo-Spanish
  adjective
• quasi-Spanish
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Spanish

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

Compare meaning

How does spanish compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Spaniard vs. Spanish

Example Sentences

The amount the Spanish government owes her includes fines and interest in addition to the money she handed over, despite having no legal obligation to pay it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Spanish newspaper El Pais reported at the time that authorities had seized Jonathan Andic's phone shortly after the death.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

The incident has been subject of speculation in the Spanish media since March last year when the local judge overseeing the investigation reopened the probe to give police more time to gather evidence.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

The project is the largest nutrition trial conducted in Europe and involved the University of Navarra along with more than 200 researchers from 22 other Spanish universities, hospitals, and research centers.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

“We didn’t know they spoke Spanish in Turkey,” they’ll say, and then, to avoid explaining too much, we reply, “It’s Spanish from long ago, de munchos anyos. Our ancestors brought it from Spain to Turkey.”

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar