Spanish Loanwords Quiz: Patio, Canyon and Cargo in English

This Spanish loanwords quiz explores the words English picked up from Spanish speakers, especially in the American West. Play 10 interactive questions on patio, canyon, rodeo, lasso, ranch, mosquito, tornado, alligator, cockroach, vanilla and words that came through Spanish from Nahuatl.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Patio
Which word for an outdoor paved area comes from Spanish?
Canyon
Which Spanish word gave English canyon?
Rodeo
What did rodeo first mean in Spanish?
Lasso
Which Spanish word became lasso?
Mosquito
What does mosquito literally mean in Spanish?
Gator
Which animal name comes from Spanish el lagarto?
Cowboy
Which cowboy word comes from vaquero?
Vanilla
What does vanilla mean in Spanish?
Nahuatl
Which food word reached English from Nahuatl through Spanish?
Ranch
Which Spanish word gave English ranch?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which word for an outdoor paved area comes from Spanish?
Answer: Patio
It once meant a courtyard.
Q2: Which Spanish word gave English canyon?
Answer: Canon
It can mean tube or pipe.
Q3: What did rodeo first mean in Spanish?
Answer: A roundup of cattle
It comes from rodear, to surround.
Q4: Which Spanish word became lasso?
Answer: Lazo
It means a loop or tie.
Q5: What does mosquito literally mean in Spanish?
Answer: Little fly
The ending -ito means small.
Q6: Which animal name comes from Spanish el lagarto?
Answer: Alligator
It means the lizard.
Q7: Which cowboy word comes from vaquero?
Answer: Buckaroo
English speakers changed the sound.
Q8: What does vanilla mean in Spanish?
Answer: Little pod
It refers to the seed pod.
Q9: Which food word reached English from Nahuatl through Spanish?
Answer: Tomato
Chocolate followed the same path.
Q10: Which Spanish word gave English ranch?
Answer: Rancho
It meant a small farm or settlement.

Spanish Loanwords Quiz – Patio, Canyon and Cargo in English

English has borrowed hundreds of words from Spanish, especially in the American Southwest, where Spanish-speaking ranchers and settlers lived long before English speakers arrived. Words like patio, plaza and siesta came along too.

Cowboy life brought rodeo, lasso, ranch and buckaroo, which comes from vaquero. Landscape words like canyon and mesa, and animal names like mosquito, alligator and cockroach, also came from Spanish.

Some words traveled further, reaching Spanish from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, before entering English. Tomato and chocolate followed that path, and vanilla means little pod in Spanish.

What This Quiz Teaches

Language fans will enjoy these questions.

Which words come from Spanish
What they first meant
How cowboy words spread
Which animals got Spanish names
Which words came from Nahuatl

Did You Know?

Tornado may come from Spanish words for thunderstorm and turning.
Cargo comes from Spanish cargar, to load.
Armadillo means little armored one.
Many US place names are Spanish, like Los Angeles.
Bonanza once meant fair weather at sea.