Going Goth: how the Goths influenced Spanish

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Although Spanish is a Romance language, meaning it originated in Latin, numerous other languages have an impact on modern Spanish. Indeed, the Goths are responsible for a good number of common Spanish phrases!

This is how Spanish became gothic.

The Goths invaded Spain.

Many Germanic populations, notably the Goths, were residing in Iberia (the peninsula that is now home to Spain and Portugal) during the fall of Rome. They spoke their own Germanic languages, which are connected to German and English, and they originated from someplace in Northern Europe. They also spoke Latin. Several terms with Gothic roots were incorporated into the regional Latin dialect thanks to this bilingualism.

One of these Gothic groups, the Visigoths, had a particularly significant language. Some Visigoth terms were absorbed by Iberian Latin and then passed down to Spanish. Several common names, such as Guzmán, Rodríguez, and Gómez, have Gothic origins and feel distinctly Spanish. Because of the suffix “-ez,” which means “son of,” Fernández is “son of Fernando”!

The peninsula was guarded by the Goths.

Latin adopted several terms from Gothic that had to do with keeping an eye on things. Something like wardon, which means “to guard,” was the Germanic ancestral term that was transferred to Gothic (and English!) language. This gave rise to terms like guarantee, ward, and warden in English.

When Germanic words were incorporated into Romance languages, the initial w- frequently changed to gu-, a sound that was similar to the original “w.” Consequently, Spanish currently has a large number of gu-words that have to do with keeping an eye on things: guardar (to maintain), guardia (security guard, police officer), guardián (guard, guardian), and more terms sharing the same Germanic ancestry!

It’s interesting to note that, despite already possessing the original Germanic w-word, English occasionally borrowed the Romance (often French) translation of these terms! These days, English features comparable pairings like guarantee/warranty, guard/ward, and guardian/warden, one with the Germanic w- and one with the adopted Romance gu-.

Considering how important it is to safeguard or keep an eye on funds, it should come as no surprise that the Spanish term banco, which means “bank,” originated from a word similar to the Gothic word bankiz, which was used throughout Iberia. Its initial meaning was “table” or “shelf,” and it later came to refer to a particular table that moneylenders utilized as well as the money that was amassed. Many of these earlier connotations are still retained by the Spanish term banco in present usage: Banco can refer to a “bench,” “bank,” or even a “shoal.” (as in an accumulation of fish).

Gothic language generated fresh concepts.

Occasionally, a culture will take an idea from another culture and translate it into their own language rather than stealing a term. A Goth buddy with whom one may have dinner was referred to by a particular term: gahlaibo. In the literal meaning of breaking bread with a buddy, it meant “with bread.” (The component ending in -hlaib- is related to the English loaf, the Russian term хлеб (khleb, “bread”), and the Ukrainian word хлiα (khlib, “bread”).)

This notion of a certain type of close friend and the use of “with bread” to characterize the relationship was adopted by Latin speakers. The translation of the Gothic gahlaibo was Latin companis, which means literally “with bread”: Comparable to the Spanish term pan (as well as the English phrases Panera and pantry), panis denotes bread, while com is similar to con (from). Spanish now contains a wide variety of bread-inspired phrases for friends and coworkers, such as acompañar (to accompany), compañía (company), and compañero (partner, compatriot, companion). Not to mention the terms buddy and company in English!