Glossary of Terms

Adobe: sun-baked brick made of water, earth, straw, and sometimes horsehair.

Agua: water.

Aguardiente: brandy.

Alameda: poplar grove.

Alamitos: little cottonwood trees.

Alcalde: mayor of a town.

Alferez: a second lieutenant in the Spanish Royal Army.

Alta California: Upper California

Angeleno: a person from Los Angeles.

Arroyo: brook, small stream, or rivulet.

Arroyo Seco: dry stream.

Artesian: water from an underground water source.

Avenida: an avenue.

Ayuntamiento: municipal government, town hall or council.

Bahia: bay, harbor.

Baile: dance, ball, or ballet.

Baja California: Lower California

Bandido: bandit, bandidos (plural form).

Batalon Fijo: a fixed battalion.

Blanco: the color white.

Bolcanes: geysers.

Bolsas: bag, purse.

Bonita: pretty.

Brea: pitch, tar, canvas.

Bueyes: oxen.

Caballo: horse.

Caballero: horseman, a don.

Cahuenga: a pass between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. The name is derived from the Gabrielino village of Mocohuenga located in the vicinity.

Calabasas: pumpkins, or gourds.

Calera: limekiln.

Californio: a native born Californian of Spanish-speaking descent, usually of Spanish ancestry not Mexican.

Calle: street.

Camino: road.

Campanario: bell tower.

Campo Santo: cemetery, literally translated means Saint's Camp.

Cañada: a narrow canyon, dale, dell, gully, ravine, or a mountain valley.

Capitan: captain in the army

Cara: face.

Carreta: a primitive wooden cart, or wheelbarrow, usually pulled by a pair of oxen.

Casa: house.

Centinela: guard, sentinel.

Cerritos: little hills.

Chumash: Native American Indians who once occupied a region from western Los Angeles County to the San Luis Obispo area.

Cienega: a corrupted form of the word cienaga, which means a swamp or a bog. The colloquial term cienega was unique to the old Spanish province of California.

Cocina: kitchen.

Comisio de Policia: Committee for Public Order

Comisionado: a commissioner in municipal government.

Commandante de Escuadron: military squad commander.

Commandante: military commander.

Conejo: rabbit.

Convento: convent.

Corredor: corridor; a gallery around a patio; a covered porch.

Defensores de la Patria: Defenders of the Fatherland, or Defenders of the Native Country, similar to a state militia.

Defensores: defenders, militia.

Diablo: devil, Satan.

Diputacion: deputation committee to a governor, similar to a state assembly.

Diseno: a crudely drawn map of a rancho.

Don: a title used only before the Christian names of men, a title of respect.

Dona: a title used only before the Christian names of women, a title of respect.

El Camino Real: the Royal Road, or Royal Highway, the main route connecting the Franciscan mission system.

Encino: a live oak tree.

Escolta: a military detachment guarding a mission.

Escondido: hiding place.

Feliz: happy.

Fernandenos: Native American Indians under the jurisdiction of the San Fernando Mission.

Fiesta: festivity, a celebration.

Fundangos: fandangos, a lively Spanish dance.

Gabrielinos: Native American Indians under the jurisdiction of the San Gabriel Mission.

Glorietta: gazebo.

Gringo: foreigner, usually applies to an Anglo-Saxon.

Hacienda: estate, property, or large farm.

Hermanas: sisters.

Hermosa: beautiful.

Horno: a beehive shaped, outdoor oven made of adobe.

Juaneno: Native American Indians under the jurisdiction of the San Juan Capistrano Mission.

Juez de Campo: field judge, settled all disputes as to branding

Juez de Paz: justice of the peace.

Junta: council.

La Jota: a type of Spanish dance.

League: Spanish unit of measure for distance or area, equaling anywhere between 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles. The U.S. Land Commission ruled a square league was 6.935 square miles or 4,438 acres.

Llavera: housekeeper, housemother.

Loma: hill.

Madera: wood, timber, lumber.

Madre: mother.

Mar: sea.

Mayordomo: an overseer or manager of a rancho.

Merced: mercy.

Mesa: table, plateau.

Mestizo: a person of mixed Spanish and Indian ethnicity.

Mexican: a Mexican national.

Mullato: a person of mixed Black and Spanish ethnicity.

Neophyte: a mission Indian newly converted to the Catholic faith.

Nueva: new, (feminine form).

Nogales: walnut trees.

Nopalera: a prickly pair, cactus.

Oso: bear.

Padre: father or priest.

Palacio: palace.

Palo: stick, tree.

Paredon Blanco: a white high plain.

Paseo: a pass, passageway.

Patio: patio, open court, or courtyard.

Pedregoso: rocky, stony, pebbly.

Piedra: stone, rock.

Placerita: a small placer.

Plaza: an open square in the center of town.

Pobladores: settlers.

Porcuincula: the old name of the Los Angeles River

Potrero: fenced-in pasture land, cattle ranch.

Presidio: military establishment.

Primera: first.

Providencia: Providence, God.

Puente: bridge.

Ramadas: brush shelters.

Rancheria: a collection of Indian shelters, village, or settlement.

Ranchero: a ranch owner.

Rancho: a ranch.

Reatas: rope, lasso, lariat.

Redondo: round.

Regidor: a member of a town council.

Regidores: town council.

Reina: queen.

Rey: king.

Rincon: corner.

Rio Hondo: deep river.

Rio: river.

Rodeo: a round up of cattle.

Sala: a parlor, living room.

Salinas: a salt pit, salt works.

Serape: a shawl worn as a coat.

Serrano: Native American Indians who lived in the San Gabriel Mountain Range.

Sierra: a chain of mountains.

Sindico: a receiver, a person appointed to take charge of property under litigation or to liquidate a bankrupt business.

Soldados de Cuera: Leather Jacket Soldiers of the Spanish Royal Army.

Spaniard: a native of Spain.

Tejon: badger.

Tienda: general merchandise store.

Tijera: scissors.

Triunfo: triumph.

Tules: swamp grass or reeds.

Tunas: opuntias, cactus, or prickly pear.

Uvas: grapes

Valle: valley.

Vaquero: cowboy.

Vara: Spanish unit of measure, roughly equivalent to one yard.

Verde: the color green.

Viejo: old (masculine form); vieja (feminine form).

Yankee: mid-nineteenth century immigrants to California from the United States or England, usually of Anglo-Saxon descent.

Zanja: irrigation ditch.

Zanja Madre: the Mother Ditch, the main irrigation system supplying the pueblo of Los Angeles with water from the Los Angeles River.

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