Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Spanish ·1580s
Armada
from armada — "armed fleet"
- Meaning
- Feminine past participle of *armar* (to arm), used as a noun.
- Source word
- armada — "armed fleet"
- Route into English
- Naturalised in English after the failed 1588 Spanish invasion attempt — the word that described the enemy stuck.
- Arrived
- 1580s
From Spanish
American Spanish, not peninsular Spanish, provided most of the modern loanwords — through US expansion westward and Latin American trade.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.