| A
note from the author:
While gathering information
for a fully translated article, I became aware more than ever of the many adjectives describing hues and intensities
of various colors. In the case of occupations as well,
and particularly in Spanish words, descriptive words seem
to have not only different meanings in different localities,
but many shades of meaning as well. Rather than insert
my own "best guess," I have chosen, therefore,
to leave most of the descriptions in Spanish, with this
glossary to provide the reader with the choices. A few
of the more archaic words were not found in any of our
dictionaries nor could they be answered by any of my advisors.
Readers are encouraged
to contribute information on any of these interpretations.
Such feedback will be shared in future issues of the New
Mexico Genealogist and/or on this web site. Please send comments and information
to my attention at: New Mexico Genealogical Society, P.
O. Box 27559, Albuquerque, NM 87125-7559, or by email to Webmaster@nmgs.org, Attention: Evelyn Lujan Baca.
Abulorado, abultadora,
avultado, abultada:
1) increased, 2) bulky, massive
Afilada: When describing a nose: Sharp,
aquiline
Alta: High
Ancha: Wide
Aplastada: Flat
Arrenmangada, Remangado: When describing
a nose: uplifted, tucked up
Asafranado, azafranado: Saffron colored
Aquilino: Nose or face: aquiline, hooked;
applied commonly to the nose
Arriero: Muleteer
Azeytunados, Azeitunados: Olive colored
Azul, azules: Blue
Barba: Beard
Barba serrada: Thick beard
Bermejo, vermejo: Of a bright reddish color
Berdes, verdes: Green
Blanco: White
Blanco Lucero: Very white, translucent.
(Albino?)
Boso, voso: Not in the dictionaries, but
advisers (Vega and de Niño) define this as the
thick part of the cheek or the area above the lip
Cafe: brown colored
Calbo: Bald
Algo Calbo: Somewhat bald
Campista, del campo, campesino: "leads
a country life." Possibly a farmer or farm laborer
Carrillo: Cheek; fleshy part of the face
Castaño, Castaña: Chestnut
colored; also hazel or amber colored
Castaño cerrado: Chestnut color,
thick
Castañas claras: Light hazel or
amber
Castaña clara: Light chestnut
Cavo: Chief, head; or commander
Cerrada(o), zerrada(o), serrada(o): Closed
Barba serrada: Thick beard
Chata: Flat-nosed
Claro: Light colored
Trigueño Claro: Light brunette
Castañas Claras: Light chestnut
Comerciante: Trader; merchant
Corta: short
Crespo: Crisp, curly, crispy, wiry
Criador: Animal breeder; caretaker
Del Campo, campesino, campisto: One who
leads a "country life." Possibly a farmer or
farm laborer
Garzo(s): Blue eyed
Gatuño: Eyes: "Cat-like"
Guero: Blonde
Herrero: Blacksmith
Horrero: One who has the care of a granary;
store-keeper
Labrador:Farmer
Lampiño: Beardless, or having little
hair
Linea: Seen in measures of height, as in
"5 pies 1 pulgada 5 lineas." The Velazquez dictionary
defines linea as a twelfth part of an inch,
so the above example would be read as five feet, one and
five-twelfths inches
Lucero: Transparent, translucent.
Blanco Lucero: Very white. Albino?
Obrag(j)ero, Obragon: Foreman, overseer,
superintendent.
Obscuron: Dark
Pardo: This is a case where three of us
had different translations. Both Richard Gonzales and
Jonathan Ortega translated it as brown; in northern New
Mexico where I grew up, pardo was gray.
The Velazquez dictionary defines it as:
Gray, drab, brown; a mixture of black and white containing
some yellow or red. [But if the word is gray, most of
the soldiers had gray eyes!]
Pecas: Freckles
Poblado(a): "Of the place inhabited";
filled in thickly
Poblado Negro: Thick black (beard or brows)
Poblado Rojo: Thick red
Poca: Small, sparse, scanty
Prica: Possibly from "prisca,"
a kind of peach. Referring to "peach fuzz"?
Remangada, arremangada: uplifted, tucked
up
Revueltos anbinados (embinados): Possibly
the color that describes anvir, a reddish liquor expressed
from the fermented leaves of tobacco.
Roja, rojo: Red
Rosado/a: Rose, crimson, flushed, rosy
Trigueño Rosado: Rosy brunette
Blanco Rosado: Light brunette
Rubio: Golden, fair, ruddy
Sarco, zarco: wall-eyed, of a light blue
color
Serrada(o), Cerrada(o), zerrada(o): Thick
Alta Serrada: Very thick
Tambor: Drum, drummer
Texedor: Weaver
Trigueño: Brunette; Olive skinned;
Swarthy
Trigueño Claro: Light brunette
Trigueño Rosado: Rosy brunette
Blanco Trigueño: Light brunette
Verdes, berdes: Green
Vermejo, bermejo: A bright reddish color
Voso, boso: Not in the dictionaries, but
advisers (Vega and de Niño) define this as the
thick part of the cheek or the area above the lip
Zarco, sarco: wall-eyed; of a light blue
color
Zerrada(o), Cerrada(o), Serrada(o): Closed
Barba zerrada: Thick beard
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