Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Spanish ·1710s
Poncho
from poncho
- Meaning
- A rectangular cloak with a head-hole.
- Source word
- poncho
- Route into English
- Araucanian (Mapuche) *pontho* → Chilean Spanish → English via 19th-century South American contact. Technically an indigenous word, but English inherits it via Spanish, which is where it picked up its modern form.
- Arrived
- 1710s
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.