Spanish American
1
3.0
- noun
- /ˈspænɪʃ əˈmɛrɪkən/
- US
:
estadounidense de origen español
- Many of those who are identified as Hispanic prefer to be called Spanish Americans or Latinos, as the term "Hispanic" refers to the colonizing nation of Spain (Castro et al., 1999).
- Spanish American War
Examples
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My grandmother and baby Isabel moved into the church, ate leaves, and occasionally ventured over to the American POW camp, where her father-in-law, a Texan left over from the Spanish-American War, would pass her handfuls of rice through the bars.
Fiction book (2000) -
Many Spanish Americans celebrate their heritage through cultural festivals and community events.
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As a Spanish American, she often shares her family's traditions and customs with her friends.
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The contributions of Spanish Americans to American culture are evident in music, art, and food.
Synonyms
24
3.5
A person from a Spanish-speaking country, often living in the United States
6
3.2
A person in the United States whose family comes from a Spanish-speaking country, often from Latin America or Spain
1
7.2
A person with Spanish or Hispanic family roots in the southwestern United States for many generations
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'Spanish' modifies 'American' to indicate an American with Spanish heritage or a Spanish-language background. This nationality/ethnicity compound pattern is common and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the intended meaning (context may be needed to distinguish 'from Spain' vs 'Spanish-speaking origin').
Etymology
Spanish American comes from joining Spanish (the language or people from Spain and Spanish-speaking countries) and American (someone from the Americas). The name was used to talk about people in the United States whose 'first language is Spanish' or who are of 'Spanish-speaking' origin, so the phrase directly says who they are.