Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Libro

Today's word is: Libro
Clase: sustantivo (noun)
Género: masculino (masculine)
Origen: latín (Latin)

In Spanish, “libro” is a masculine noun of Latin origin which means book, and is used as in:
  • Voy a leer ese libro (I am going to read that book)



A related word is the describing word/ adjective “libre*, which means free, and is used as in:
  • Somos libres (we are free)


Also related is the action word/ verb “liberar”, the main meaning of which is to free. More specific meanings are shown in the following examples:
  • Liberating/ making someone or something (a country/ city/ territory/ etc.) free
    • La policía liberó a los rehenes (the police freed the hostages)
    • El ejército liberó las ciudades en poder de los rebeldes (the army liberated the cities under control of the rebels)
  • Releasing/ secreting
    • El sapo libera toxinas a través de la piel (the toad releases/ secretes toxins through the skin)


Also related is the action word/ verb “librar”, the main meaning of which is to free. More specific meanings are shown in the following examples:
  • Shielding/ protecting someone from something (as in keeping free from danger/ evil/ hardship/ etc.)
    • ¡Dios me libre! (God/ Heaven forbid!)
    • Un buen abogado puede librarle de ir a la cárcel (a good lawyer may stop him going to jail)
  • Escaping something/ avoiding something (as in: freeing oneself from someone/ something)
    • Nos libramos de un buen chapuzón (we avoided a good soaking)
    • No consigo librarme de ese pesado (I can't get rid of that pest)
  • Releasing/ issuing a statement or something similar
    • El juez libró sentencia (the judge passed sentence)
  • Having time off work (as in: time free from work)
    • Ayer libré (yesterday I took a day off work/ a holiday)
    • Trabajo cinco días y libro dos (I work five days and have two days off)
  • Doing battle/ fighting (the compound expression: librar batalla)
    • La batalla se libró en el año 1066 (the battle was fought in the year 1066)


A Spanish expression with the word “libro” is:
  • El libro de la vida (The Book of Life)
  • El libro de la Selva (The Jungle Book)
  • El libro de las cuarenta hojas** (pack of playing cards -colloquially)
  • Feria del libro (book fair)
  • Juzgar un libro por su portada (to judge a book by its cover)
    • No deberías juzgar un libro por su portada (you shouldn't judge a book by its cover)
  • Hablar como un libro (to speak clearly, elegantly and authoritatively)
  • Hacer alguien libro nuevo (to begin to mend one's ways)
    • Después de lo que ha pasado, deberíamos hacer libro nuevo (after what has happened, we ought to begin mending our ways)
  • Libro abierto (open book)
  • Libro aburrido (boring book)
  • Libro blanco (White Paper)
  • Libro contable (ledger)
  • Libro de cabecera (bedside book)
  • Libro de caja (cash book/ cash journal)
  • Libro de calificaciones (grade book/ mark book/ report card)
  • Libro de cuentas (account/ accounting book)
  • Libro de escolaridad (grade book/ mark book/ report card)
  • Libro de familia*** (family record/register book)
  • Libro de honor (VIP visitors book)
  • Libro de misa (mass book/ breviary/ book of common prayer)
  • Libro de oro (VIP visitors book -literally, 'gold book')
  • Libro de pasta blanda (paperback)
  • Libro de pasta dura (hardback/ hard cover book)
  • Libro de quejas**** (complaints book)
  • Libro de reclamaciones**** (complaints book)
  • Libro de registro (logbook)
  • Libro de tapa blanda (paperback)
  • Libro de tapa dura (hardback/ hard cover book)
  • Libro de texto (textbook)
  • Libro de visitas (visitors book)
  • Libro electrónico (e-book)
  • Libro proscrito (banned book)
  • Libro sagrado (holy book)
  • Libro verde (Green Paper)
  • Libros sagrados (Holy Scriptures)
  • No estar una materia en los libros de alguien (not in someone's dictionary/ alien to someone's way of thinking)
    • El trabajo no está en los libros de Pedro (work is not a word in Pedro's dictionary)
  • No haber necesidad de abrir ni cerrar ningún libro para algo (said when something is quite straightforward/ simple)
    • Para llamarme por teléfono no hay necesidad de abrir ni cerrar ningún libro (phoning me is a straightforward task -you don't need a degree to do it!)
  • No ser menester abrir ni cerrar ningún libro para algo (said when something is quite straightforward/ simple)
    • Para llamarme por teléfono no es menester abrir ni cerrar ningún libro (phoning me is a straightforward task -you don't need a degree to do it!)
  • Restaurar un libro (to restore a book)
  • Tenedor de libros (bookkeeper -male/ accountancy)
  • Tenedora de libros (bookkeeper -female/ accountancy)
  • Teneduría de libros (bookkeeping -accountancy)


Notes
*Please note that when we use free, with the meaning, 'free of charge', in Spanish we should not use “libre”, but instead use adjectives such as, “gratis” or “gratuito”/ “gratuita

**A deck of Spanish playing cards, “baraja española” consists of 40 or 48 Spanish cards or “cartas españolas” or “naipes españoles

*** In Spain, the “libro de familiais an official document which records and confirms parent/ offspring relationships. For a given person, the “libro de familia records details of events like marriages/ children births/ adoptions/ deaths/ separations/ divorces/ and such like.

**** A “libro de reclamaciones” or “libro de quejas” is a book or file with standard/ official forms for recording customers complaints. Consumers are entitled to be given, on demand a standard/ official complaint form to fill it in and thus lodge a formal complaint about goods or services.


Love-Spanish.com loves the word "libro" in the YouTube clip: Bobby Valentin-Libro De Amor


For more on the word "libro", visit:Wordreference.com/es/en/ Libro

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

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