cimiento

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin caementum. Cognate with the borrowed doublet cemento. Compare English cement.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θiˈmjento/ [θiˈmjẽn̪.t̪o]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /siˈmjento/ [siˈmjẽn̪.t̪o]

Noun

cimiento m (plural cimientos)

1. (chiefly in the plural) foundation (the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure)
   • 2019 April 16, María Laura Avignolo, “Con un aluvión de donaciones prometen reconstruir Notre Dame en sólo cinco años”, in Clarín‎^[1]:

     En el amanecer del martes emergía a la luz del día como un espectro gris y gótico, que aun humeaba pero estaba firme en sus cimientos.

     At dawn Tuesday it emerged in daylight like a gray, Gothic specter, that was still smoking but firm in its foundation.

2. (chiefly in the plural) foundation, groundwork (the result of the work to begin something)

Related terms

• cimentar
• cemento

Further reading

• “cimiento”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014