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 Things to Do in Los Angeles |
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| Table of Contents |
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.
Caada: 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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Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County © 1997 John R. Kielbasa
Unless otherwise noted, photos 