Author: dc

Adjective. This word is very common in Legal Spanish and it does not have a direct translation into English. It can be translated into ‘reliable, authentic’, but it means much more than that. The RAE defines it as que hace fe, fidedigno. I think this needs a deeper explanation. As you can see, there are two words here: fe (faith), haciente (making): faith-making. My partner David is here telling me that in English ‘faith-making’ means nothing and I trust him because he is English and a journalist. But, in Spanish it means a lot: Que hace fe means something like ‘that it proofs that what it declares is trustworthy’. For example: un documento fehaciente. But the problem does not finish here; this adjective is often used in the expression de forma fehaciente, or more often we use the adverb fehacientemente. That means that what is done it is done in a way that it can be proven. The perfect example is the expression notificación fehaciente, or notificado fehacientemente; this means that the notification is made in a way that who makes it can pove they made it. Does this make any sense? I will give you a real text here: El ejercicio de este derecho deberá hacerse mediante notificación fehaciente que habrá de recibirse en el domicilio social: In order to exercise this right, the shareholder or shareholders shall provide due verifiable notification sent to the registered offices of the Company.
In another note and speaking about faith, dar fe means ‘to attest’. I think it all makes sense now. A student has told me that the best translation of fehaciente could be ‘verifiable’, and I kind of agree. dc

Adjective. Related to money. This word has a very curious etymology. It comes from the Latin pecunia: health, property, and this last one from pecus: herd; as the Romans, originally a nations of shepherds, quantified their wealth by the size of their flock. The Spanish adjective agropecuario means ‘related to the livestock sector’. In modern Italian pecora means sheep. In Spanish we use pecuniario in expressions such us pena pecuniaria: a fine, valor pecuniario: monetary value. E.g.: Puesto que se refiere a un beneficio pecuniario, y siempre que las condiciones y los procedimientos aplicables para la concesión…: Since it concerns a monetary benefit, and provided that the conditions and procedures applicable for the award of state…
On another note, pecunia in Spanish is a formal expression to refer to the set of coins and bills that are used as a legal means of payment; but curiously, in Italian, the same word means the same but usually in an ironic or joking sense. dc

Masculine noun. Temporary condition imposed by governmental authorities (as during the outbreak of an epidemic disease) in which people are required to stay in their homes and refrain from or limit activities outside the home involving public contact (such as dining out or attending large gatherings). E.g.: Las autoridades impusieron el confinamiento en la ciudad el 23 de enero: Authorities placed the city under lockdown on Jan. 23.
The verb is confinar but it is generally used more to express the idea of ‘to impose isolation or seclusion to someone’. dc

Masculine noun. Arrangement by which a company or the state undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium. E.g.: Contrata una póliza de seguro flotante por los objetos que estás trasladando: Take out a floating insurance policy for the objects you are relocating.
The verbs are asegurar: to insure; and asegurarse: to get insured. The insurance company is called la aseguradora. dc

These three terms are also very tricky. I hope this post clarifies.
Principal. Adjective: main. E.g.: Su principal logro hasta el momento, según coinciden en su mayor parte los analistas, es que no se han roto: Their main achievement to date, analysts tend to agree, is that they have not broken down.
Principio/s. Masculine noun, usually in plural: principle/s. E.g.: No confundan los valores ni menosprecien sus principios: Do not mix up your values or betray your principles.
Principio: Masculine noun, usually in singular. Beginning. E.g.: Desde el principio me involucré en muchos negocios: From the beginning I was involved in many businesses.
Príncipe: Male noun. Prince. The female form is princesa. Remember that in the Spanish Monarchy príncipe or princesa is just the heir to the Spanish throne, any other son or daughter of the Spanish king is an infante or infanta, pretty much like the term fils de France.
On another note, the English noun ‘principal’ in Spanish is usually translated as director/a de escuela. dc

Masculine noun. In Legal Spanish the acervo are all assets that belonged to a deceased person, and that must be presented before the judge who intervenes in the probate trial. It also called acervo hereditario or sucesorio. E.g.: Si usted no tiene cónyuge o hijos, sus familiares directos recibirán sus bienes y si no tiene familiares, el estado absorberá todo su acervo hereditario: If you have neither, your closest relatives will be the recipients, and if you have no relatives, your entire estate will be absorbed by the state. dc