Confused about archery "tiro con arco" yes -- La arqueria NO
When I looked up the word for archery it is tiro con arco. OK There was one question on the page and I quote. "How do you say ,"I like archery"? The answer was : "Me questa arqueria" . When I looked up the word "arqueria" The word translates to: "a series of arches". Please explain. Thanks
5 Answers
The official translation for archery is tiro con arco. That's what the DRAE says, as well as the Spanish language Wikipedia. Arquería is a series of arches or an aqueduct. However, arquería is used so much for archery that under arquería Wikipedia says,
Para el deporte olímpico véase: Tiro con arco - For the Olympic sport see tiro con arco.
So, arquería is a very commonly used word for archery that doesn't really mean archery.
I think I would choose lanzar over tirar. They both are to throw but lanzar talks about release; and that’s what a person does with archery. They release the arrow.
So much for my opinion! But I hope the other answers helped some to explain the differences. Lanzar (to release) un flecha. To release an arrow.
I don't have a definitive answer, but I do have a bit of information. The DRAE does, as you say, define arquería as "Serie de arcos." However, a Google image search for arquería results in a bunch of pictures of guys shooting arrows out of bows. I was thinking it might be an English-ism, because it sounds so much more like the English word 'archery' than tiro con arco, but it doesn't come from an area that is usually thick with English-isms in Spanish (technology, etc). At any rate, it appears to be a fairly acceptable word for archery, even if the official word is tiro con arco.
Let's see if anyone else can shed some more light on this.
arquería is a shop you buy bows or crosbows or something like that.
I have always used "arquería"; so it is a surprise to find that the word is not recognized as a real Spanish word by the DRAE.
Curiously enough, "arquero" is!:
- m. Deportista que practica el tiro con arco.
