relámpago (Spanish)
Where does "relámpago" come from?
The Spanish word 'relámpago' traces its roots back to the Ancient Greek 'lámpō', meaning to shine, which eventually evolved into the Latin 'lampas', meaning a lamp or torch. By prefixing it with 're-', the sense evolved to describe the repetitive flashing of lightning. This evolution showcases how an ancient term for a handheld flame became the vivid descriptor for a bolt from the sky.
Full etymology tree
- relámpago (Spanish), 'lightning, bolt'
- affix re- (Latin), 'back, backwards'
- derived lampāre (Late Latin)
- derived lampō (Latin), 'to shine'
- inherited λάμπω (lámpō) (Ancient Greek), 'to shine, be bright, give light'
- inherited *leh₂p- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited λάμπω (lámpō) (Ancient Greek), 'to shine, be bright, give light'
- derived lampō (Latin), 'to shine'
- derived lampada (Latin), 'accusative singular of lampas'
- inherited λαμπάς (lampás) (Ancient Greek), 'torch, wax-light'
- derived λάμπω (lámpō) (Ancient Greek), 'to shine, be bright, give light'
- inherited *leh₂p- (Proto-Indo-European)
- affix -ᾰ́ς (-ắs) (Ancient Greek), 'The nominative singular ending of masculine first-declension nouns in most dialects. Replaced by -ης (-ēs) in all cases in Ionic, and in most cases in Attic.'
- derived λάμπω (lámpō) (Ancient Greek), 'to shine, be bright, give light'
- inherited λαμπάς (lampás) (Ancient Greek), 'torch, wax-light'
Ancestors
- lampas (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- llampec (Catalan)
- relâmpago (Portuguese)
Descendants and derived words
- como un relámpago (Spanish)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris