"de la mancha?" - of the stain?

Question

If "mancha" means "stain" literally in spanish (yes?), then why does everything seem to be "de la mancha?" ie: Don Quijote De La Mancha, Castilla De La Mancha

Answer 1

HI Carmen, the origin of this region seems to be (one theory) this:

En el año 711, los árabes cruzaron el Estrecho de Gibraltar y dieron comienzo a la conquista de la Península Ibérica, a la que llamarían Al-Ándalus. Precisamente, según varias teorías, es de la lengua árabe de la que procede el topónimo "Mancha": así, Manxa o Al-Mansha se traduce como "tierra sin agua", y Manya como "alta planicie" o "lugar elevado", siendo estas teorías las más comunes sobre el origen del topónimo.35

Answer 2

If "mancha" means "stain" literally in spanish (yes?), then why does everything seem to be "de la mancha?" ie: Don Quijote De La Mancha, Castilla De La Mancha

It is not "de la mancha", but "de La Mancha". La Mancha is the name of the region of Spain where Don Quijote supposedly was born.

Answer 3

This is what Wikopedia says about the Spanish word "mancha". Keep in mind that Spain was overrun by the Moors at times.

" The name "La Mancha" is probably derived from the Arab word ?????? al-mansha, meaning "the dry land" or "wilderness". The name of the city of Almansa in Albacete also has the same origin.[1] Broadly, it spans the elevated plateau of central Spain, stretching from the mountains of Toledo to the western spurs of the hills of Cuenca, and bounded to the South by the Sierra Morena and to the North by the Alcarria region.[2]"

Answer 4

la Mancha

I can more readily wrap my head around a plain/plateau being named a stain.

Maybe it's because of red soils which are very common there. When you look at it from the plane, the surface is really red-brown, very similar to the color of stain. - Maciek071, Sep 2, 2009

Por supuesto, Maciek lleva razon. Recuerda que los polacos son siempre infalible ;) Jeje - bomberapolaca, Jan 17, 2010

Of course, there weren't many aeroplanes in thos days. - samdie, Jan 17, 2010

Answer 5

As a funny side note, I was watching a movie in Spanish the other day, and they were talking about the "Canal de la Mancha". I wondered where "Stain's Channel" could possibly be, so I looked it up on Wiki and found out that that's the Spanish name for the English Channel! Wiki says it's due to a poor translation from the French name, "La Manche", which actually means "la manga", due to it looking something like an arm or sleeve of the Atlantic.

Channel of the Stain. That's pretty funny.

Answer 6

gracias por toda su ayuda!

I am glad you asked this question! It was interesting to read about the origins for the name of the region in which Don Quixote was born. - Janice, Aug 27, 2009

Then why didn't you vote up her question? - 0074b507, Aug 27, 2009

haha vote up my question! lol glad i sparked some good discussion! - carmen101, Sep 1, 2009

Answer 7

Hi Carmen You have to look to see if there is more than one meaning for a word. Many, many years ago I had a friend who wrote to his French pen pal to tell him, in French, that he played grasshopper on the village green every weekend.