"local" as a noun

Question

In Spandict, the definition of the Spanish word "local," meaning a person who is a local (in a town, for example), is lugareño, paisano, or vecino. (In Spanish a "local" can also refer to a business premise.) But I don't see the noun "local" in Spanish as meaning the noun "local" in English .

But here are a couple of examples from an article I'm reading about Cumaná, Venezuela where "local" seems to mean a person who is local, i.e., is from the place or area:

1) El primer atributo, "marinera", se debe a que tiene el privilegio de estar ubicada de cara al Mar Caribe y al Golfo de Cariaco. Esto hace que los locales disfruten de uno de los mares más bellos del mundo durante todo el año.

2) La Iglesia de Santa Inés, la Iglesia Catedral y la Iglesia Virgen del Valle son tesoros que son testimonio de tiempos pasados en los que la fe católica era uno de los grandes pilares en la vida de los locales.

It seems that in both of the above sentences "los locales" means "los lugareños" (i.e., "the locals"). If so, why isn't this possibility included in either the Spanish to English or English to Spanish translations in SpanDict?

Answer 1

The correct usage would be somethng like: la gente local. Whoever says local meaning local people has probably copied the English usage.

The RAE lists only one usage of local as a noun - A place such as a business that is covered and can be closed. So a taco vendor on the street could have a sitio, but not local.

thank you. So SpanDict's definition is right & the article uses an incorrect usage of the Spanish "local." Thanks for your help, not just on this question but also on the many other questions with which you've helped me. - malbecblend, Aug 20, 2015

It´s my pleasure - 005faa61, Aug 20, 2015

Answer 2

Local. Think of the individual stores in a mall. Each one is a local.

Exactly - 005faa61, Aug 20, 2015