Adjective. Able to respond to an economic debt or take charge of an obligation. E.g.: Escrivá defiende que la Seguridad Social es “solvente” y reconoce la falta de personal: Escrivá stresses that the public pension system is “solid and solvent”.
The noun is la solvencia. E.g.: Motivos que dificultan la concesión de una hipoteca ajenos a la solvencia: Reasons that make it difficult to grant a mortgage other than solvency. The verb is solventar. E.g.: Para poder solventar los gastos de la vivienda, subalquilaba dos habitaciones: To be able to afford the apartment she sublet two rooms.
In another note, solvente, as a noun, means solvent; the liquid in which a solid is dissolved to form a solution. I used to deal with it a lot when I was a child and ‘helped’ my father with his job as a carpenter to remove paint from wood. dc
La palabra del dÃa: Coacción
Feminine noun. This term has two interrelated meanings: 1. Force or violence done to someone to force him/her to say or do something; 2. Legitimate power of the Law to enforce compliance or prevail over its infringement. E.g.1: La acusación debe demostrar sus argumentos sin recurrir a pruebas obtenidas por coacción o por fuerza: The prosecution must prove its case without resort to evidence obtained through coercion or oppression. E.g.2: De hecho, el Estado central tiene menos poder de coacción en las regiones porque éstas se autofinancian y no siempre tienen…: Indeed, the central State has less coercive power in the regions because they are self-financed and do not always have the…
The adjective is coactivo/a, and the adverb coactivamente.
When I moved to Rome from Argentina in 2001, one of the first words from romanesco I learned was coatto. Thanks to my knowledge of Legal Spanish, I immediately guessed its meaning: a bully. Study legal Spanish with me and you will not just learn, you will also open your mind. dc
La palabra del dÃa: Entrada en vigor
Feminine noun. Beginning of the effectiveness of a legal norm.
The verb is entrar en vigor. E.g.: Como regla general, si en ella no se dispone otra cosa, entra en vigor a los veinte dÃas de su publicación en el BoletÃn Oficial del Estado (CC, art. 2.1): As a general rule, if it does not provide otherwise, it enters into force twenty days after its publication in the Official State Gazette (CC, art. 2.1). dc
La palabra del dÃa: Facultad
Femenine noun. You may have heard this term several times and you may have translated it as ‘university college’. E.g.: Faculatad de Derecho: College of Law.
In Legal Spanish, facultad has two more meanings: 1. power or right to do something. E.g.: El derecho subjetivo es la facultad propia de un sujeto para realizar o no una cierta conducta: The subjective right is the power of a person to carry out or not a certain conduct. 2. Physical or moral aptitude to do something. In the first case, facultad can be a synonym of potestad; in the second case, a synonym of capacidad.
The verb is facultar: to empower, and the adjective facultativo/a: optional.
On another note: un/a facultativo/a, noun, is a doctor: Sanidad no encuentra un sustituto que supla al facultativo durante sus vacaciones por el plan de contingencia por la pandemia: The Health Department cannot find a substitute to replace the doctor during his holidays due to the contingency plan for the pandemic I cannot imagine the link. dc
La palabra del dÃa: Perito/a
Adjective, mainly used as a noun. Expert or knowledgeable in something. As a noun, in Legal Spanish we use this term to refer to the expert who gives evidence in a hearing (audiencia pericial) or by means of a document (informe pericial). E.g.: Homicidio de Tino John: Un perito afirma que no hubo enfrentamiento: Homicide of Tino John: An expert witness affirms that there was no confrontation.
The adjective is pericial and the verb is peritar: to judge expertly.
My country has a famous glacier in the south called Perito Moreno. When I was a child, I assumed that Perito was the Christian name of a chap called Moreno, or a version of Pedrito (Pete); after all, everybody calls my father Pierino (Pete in Italian); but no – Mr. Moreno was an Argentine explorer who in 1902 was appointed perito, in which capacity he disproved Chilean claims to the continental divide in the Southern Cone and he was awarded a glacier named after him. His name was Francisco Pancracio Moreno. I guess you understand why we prefer to call him just Perito. dc
La palabra del dÃa: Adjudicar
Verb. To assign or attribute something to a person or thing. E.g.: RegistradurÃa adjudicó por $1,23 billones la licitación para organización de elecciones: The Registrar’s Office awarded the tender for the organization of elections for $ 1.23 billion.
The noun is la adjudicación: Transporte urbano: Austin quiere conocer el criterio de adjudicación a la empresa Ceferino: City transport: Austin wants to know the award criteria to the Ceferino company. The person is el/la adjudicatario/a: E.g.: TraficoPort S.L., adjudicataria provisional del servicio de coordinación del Puerto: TraficoPort S.L., provisional awardee of the Port coordination service. dc

