Spanish Words in English from U.S. Census Bureau

“Profile America — Friday, Sept. 22. As the country continues to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, many Americans may be unaware of the number of everyday words in the English language that have Spanish roots, or came to us from the Caribbean or West Africa through Spanish. These include food terms such as tomato, chocolate and banana, and those for animals, such as jaguar and alligator. The Old West has many such words — rodeo, lasso, bronco, mustang and hoosegow. Other common words are cafeteria, patio, tobacco, tornado and hurricane. Some 31 million Americans age five and older speak Spanish at home — more than one of every 10 U.S. households. These and more facts about America are available from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at

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