descanso

See also: Descanso and descansó

English

WOTD – 5 August 2015

Descanso by the side of the Route 250 in the USA

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Spanish des-

Spanish des-

Latin campsāre

Spanish cansar

Spanish descansardeverb.

Spanish descansobor.

English descanso

Borrowed from Spanish descanso (“place of rest, as of a funeral procession”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛsˈkɑːnsoʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: des‧can‧so

Noun

descanso (plural descansos)

1. A cross placed at the site of a violent, unexpected death, in memoriam.

   The highways of the USA are littered with descansos, silent reminders of automobile accidents.

Anagrams

• condessa

Asturian

Verb

descanso

1. first-person singular present indicative of descansar

Catalan

Verb

descanso

1. first-person singular present indicative of descansar

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish descanso (“rest”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: des‧can‧so

Noun

descanso

1. rest

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /desˈkɐ̃.su/, /d͡ʒisˈkɐ̃.su/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /desˈkɐ̃.su/, /d͡ʒisˈkɐ̃.su/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /deʃˈkɐ̃.su/, /d͡ʒiʃˈkɐ̃.su/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃˈkɐ̃.su/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃su
• Hyphenation: des‧can‧so

Etymology 1

Deverbal from descansar (“to rest”), des- +‎ cansar (“to tire”), from Latin campsāre.

Noun

descanso m (plural descansos)

1. rest (relief from exertion; state of quiet and recreation)

   Synonyms: repouso, sossego, folga

   Antonyms: lavor, labor, trabalho, serviço

Related terms

• descansado
• descansar

Etymology 2

Verb

descanso

1. first-person singular present indicative of descansar

Further reading

• “descanso”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “descanso”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /desˈkanso/ [d̪esˈkãn.so]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -anso
• Syllabification: des‧can‧so

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old Spanish des-

Spanish des-

Latin campsāre

Spanish cansar

Spanish descansardeverb.

Spanish descanso

Deverbal from descansar.

Noun

descanso m (plural descansos)

1. rest, break

   Synonym: receso

2. relief

   Synonym: alivio

3. (sports) half-time

   Synonym: entretiempo

Derived terms

• área de descanso

Etymology 2

Verb

descanso

1. first-person singular present indicative of descansar

Further reading

• “descanso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025