Thursday, 6 February 2014

Costa

Today's WOTD is: "costa" = coast


1. In Spanish, “costa” is a feminine noun of Galician/ Catalan origin which means coast, coastline or shore.
  • Estamos en un pueblo en la costa con una playa fenomenal (we are in a town on the coast with a great beach);
  • España tiene más de 7000 kilólmetros de costa (the Spanish coastline is over 7000 km long);

2. The noun “costa” is used in expressions such as:
  • Andar costa a costa (to travel by sea/ sail following the coastline);
  • Artillería de costa (coastal artillery);
  • Barajar la costa (to travel by sea/ sail following the coastline);
  • Costa Blanca* ('White Coast' -popular tourist in South Eastern Spain);
  • Costa Brava* ('Wild/ Rough Coast' -popular tourist destination in North Eastern Spain);
  • Costa del Sol* ('Coast of the Sun' -popular tourist destination in Southern Spain);
  • Costa Rica (country in Central America);
    • La capital de Costa Rica es San José (the capital of Costa Rica is San José);
  • Ir costa a costa (to travel by sea/ sail following the coastline);
  • Navegar costa a costa (to travel by sea/ sail following the coastline);

*NB Lesser known names of coastal regions of Spain with the noun “costa” in them are:
  • Costa Almería('Almería Coast');
  • Costa Azahar ('Orange Blossom Coast');
  • Costa Cálida ('Warm Coast');
  • Costa de la Luz ('Coast of Light');
  • Costa Dorada ('Golden Coast');
  • Costa Tropical ('Tropical Coast')
  • Costa Vasca ('Basque Coast');
  • Costa Verde ('Green Coast');


3. Related Spanish words are:
  • The feminine noun “costilla”, which means rib.
    • Me duelen las costillas al respirar (my ribs hurt when I breathe);
  • The describing word/ adjective “costero”/ “costera”, which means coastal.
    • Estuvimos en un pueblo costero, con unas playas impresionantes (we were in a coastal town with some awesome beaches);


4. In Spanish, the word “costa” may also be the feminine form of the noun of Latin origin “costo” which means cost, expense or price. Some expressions with the noun “costa” used in this context are:
  • A costa de (at the expense of);
    • Conseguí aprobar el examen de español a costa de un gran esfuerzo (I managed to pass the Spanish exam at the expense of a great effort);
  • A toda costa (no effort spared/ no expense spared/ by any means);
    • Tengo que regresar a casa hoy a toda costa (I must return home today by any means);
  • Condenar a alguien en costas (to award costs against the loosing/ guilty party in a court case);
    • El juez ha condenado en costas a la parte perdedora (the judge has awarded costs against the losing party);
  • Salir alguien condenado en costas (to have costs awarded against someone);
    • Hemos perdido y hemos salido condenados en costas (we have lost and we have had costs awarded against us);
  • Ser alguien condenado en costas (to have costs awarded against someone);
    • Hemos perdido y hemos sido condenados en costas (we have lost and we have had costs awarded against us);


Love-Spanish.com loves the word "costa" in the YouTube clip: COSTAS -NO ME DA LA GANA

For more on the word "costa", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Costa

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “costa” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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