adj. & n.
--adj. of or relating to Spain or its people or language.
--n.
1. the language of Spain and Spanish America.
2 (prec. by the; treated as pl.) the people of Spain.
Phrases and idioms:
Spanish America those parts of America orig. settled by Spaniards, including Central and South America and part of the West Indies. Spanish Armada hist. the Spanish war fleet sent against England in 1588. Spanish bayonet a yucca, Yucca aloifolia, with stiff sharp-pointed leaves. Spanish chestnut CHESTNUT n. 1b. Spanish fly a bright green beetle, Lytta vesicatoria, formerly dried and used for raising blisters, as a supposed aphrodisiac, etc. Spanish goat a goat, Capra pyrenaica, inhabiting the Pyrenees. Spanish guitar the standard six-stringed acoustic guitar, used esp. for classical and folk music. Spanish mackerel any of various large mackerels, esp. Scomber colias or S. maculatus. Spanish Main hist. the NE coast of South America between the Orinoco river and Panama, and adjoining parts of the Caribbean Sea. Spanish omelette an omelette containing chopped vegetables and often not folded. Spanish onion a large mild-flavoured onion. Spanish windlass the use of a stick as a lever for tightening ropes etc.
Etymology: ME f. Spain, with shortening of the first element