castellano
Old Spanish
Indo-European (Romance, Ibero-Romance, Castilian) · historical / hidden variety
Old Spanish / Old Castilian is the Romance language of the Kingdom of Castile from the 10th to the 15th centuries CE, the direct ancestor of modern Spanish. It descends from Vulgar Latin in Cantabria-Castile, with significant Visigothic and Andalusi Arabic substrate/adstrate (Arabic loans for science, agriculture, administration: aceite, azúcar, álgebra, almohada). Major literary monuments include the anonymous epic Cantar de mio Cid (~1207 CE), the Glosas Emilianenses (10th c., the oldest surviving Romance text in Iberia), the Castilian translations under Alfonso X el Sabio (13th c.), and Juan Ruiz's Libro de buen amor (~1330). Old Spanish phonology (with /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ts/, /dz/ that later collapsed) was reformed by 1492 standardization (Nebrija's Gramática).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Old Spanish
Water
agua
/ˈaɣwa/
Fire
fuego
/ˈfweɣo/
Sun
sol
/sol/
Moon
luna
/ˈluna/
Mother
madre
/ˈmaðre/
Father
padre
/ˈpaðre/
Eat
comer
/koˈmeɾ/
Drink
bever
/beˈveɾ/
Love
amor
/aˈmoɾ/
Heart
coraçón
/koɾaˈt͡son/
Tree
árbor
/ˈaɾβoɾ/
House
casa
/ˈkaza/
Dog
can
/kan/
Cat
gato
/ˈɡato/
Hand
mano
/ˈmano/
Eye
ojo
/ˈoʒo/
Hello
salud
/saˈlud/
Thank you
mercedes
/meɾˈt͡seðes/
One
uno
/ˈuno/
Good
bono
/ˈbono/
Sources
- Lapesa (1981) Historia de la lengua española
- Penny (2002) A History of the Spanish Language
- Glottolog: olds1249
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Romance, Ibero-Romance, Castilian) languages
| Meaning | Old Spanish | Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro) | Spanish (Europe) | Aragonese | Asturian | Chavacano | Mirandese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | augua /ˈawɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɡwa/ | auga /ˈawɣa/ |
| Fire | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fueu /ˈfweu/ | fuego /ˈfweɡo/ | fuogo /ˈfwoɣu/ |
| Sun | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sɔl/ |
| Moon | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | lluna /ˈʎuna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ |
| Mother | madre /ˈmaðre/ | madre /ˈmadɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðɾe/ | mai /maj/ | ma /ma/ | nana /ˈnana/ | mai /maj/ |
| Father | padre /ˈpaðre/ | padre /ˈpadɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðɾe/ | pai /paj/ | pa /pa/ | tata /ˈtata/ | pai /paj/ |
| Eat | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | minchar /minˈt͡ʃaɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | come /koˈme/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ |
| Drink | bever /beˈveɾ/ | beuer /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | bebe /beˈbe/ | bubir /buˈβiɾ/ |
| Love | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | ama /ˈama/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ |
| Heart | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | corazón /koraˈson/ | coraçon /koɾaˈt͡soŋ/ |
| Tree | árbor /ˈaɾβoɾ/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾbol/ | arble /ˈaɾβle/ |
| House | casa /ˈkaza/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkaza/ |
| Dog | can /kan/ | perro /ˈpero/ | perro /ˈpero/ | can /kan/ | perru /ˈperu/ | perro /ˈpeɾo/ | perro /ˈperu/ |
| Cat | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡatu/ |
| Hand | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ |
| Eye | ojo /ˈoʒo/ | ojo /ˈoʃo/ | ojo /ˈoxo/ | güello /ˈɣweʎo/ | güeyu /ˈɡweʝu/ | ojo /ˈoho/ | uolho /ˈuoʎu/ |
| Hello | salud /saˈlud/ | Dios os guarde /djos os ˈɡwaɾde/ | hola /ˈola/ | hola /ˈola/ | hola /ˈola/ | buenas /ˈbwenas/ | olá /oˈla/ |
| Thank you | mercedes /meɾˈt͡seðes/ | gracias /ˈɡɾat͡sjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracies /ˈɡɾaθjes/ | gracias /ˈɡɾasjas/ | oubrigado /owβɾiˈɣadu/ |
| One | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | un /un/ | ún /un/ | uno /ˈuno/ | un /uŋ/ |
| Good | bono /ˈbono/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bonu /ˈbonu/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | buono /ˈbwonu/ |
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