la velada = evening

Question

I ran across the word "velada" in a book by a Mexican author and had never seen it before. I also recalled some discussion in this forum on the absence of a word for "evening" in Spanish. Usually "tarde" or "noche" is used to convey the meaning. I looked at some of the old posts, and never saw "velada" offered as a word for evening.

Is this word used in contemporary Spanish, or is it one of those words that you only see in literature?

Thanks!

Answer 1

La palabra "velada" se utiliza actualmente en la lengua española.

When you're enjoying whith your friends or your wife at night, and for long time, your're having "una velada"

In Spanish: (sorry my english)

Cuando te lo estás pasando bien con tus amigos o tu mujer por la noche, durante bastante tiempo, estás teniendo una velada.

Ejemplo en una frase: Ayer cené con mi novia, después fuimos al cine y, finalmente, estuvimos bailando en la discoteca. Pasamos una velada estupenda.

Wow! ¿Discoteca? ¿todavía usan esa palabra en España? en México está en total desuso. - Agora, Apr 28, 2011

Digo, en desuso para mencionar el lugar donde se va a escuchar música grabada y bailar - Agora, Apr 28, 2011

Sí, en españa usamos la palabra discoteca para referirse a eso. ¿Cómo lo decís en méxico? - carlomp, Apr 28, 2011

Very helpful comments - gracias. - LaBurra, Apr 28, 2011

Answer 2

I've seen it meaning "evening" in two books that I have read recently. These are juvenile books so it is not relegated to classical literature. I don't recall if it was used so much as a time of day as "an evening out on the town" or "an evening of fun"; not as 7:00 o'clock in the evening.

That makes sense based on the context of what I was reading. - LaBurra, Apr 28, 2011