There is "parcial" and there is "parcial"

Question

I am having trouble understanding a word, which none of the dictionaries seem to address. The word however keeps coming up in articles about basketball games on the ESPN internet site, en Español.

I can get the idea of an advantageous lead or score, just from the other words, and what was happening at the time described. (That's a good way to learn words anyway, in context.)But I still can't find a reference to it.

"dio a los Lakers el PARCIAL de 95-96 que iba a ser el decisivo para su equipo"

y

"para irse al descanso con la ventaja PARCIAL de 52-48"

Partial isn't the right English word/concept.

Biased isn't either.

The closest translation I could come up with was the idea of "end-of-term exam at university."

At least this is a masculine noun, and captures the idea of some kind of scoring/examining.

Bernie Kirzner, Encino, California USA

(and why does USA end up with EEUU, and not EU? Estados Unidos de America. NO')
.

Answer 1

This usage of PARCIAL is apparently common en las noticias de los deportes, even if it isn't in standard dictionaries.

Well, standard.. I found it in these 3:

Oxford Spanish-English: (Deporte) (tanteo) score (during a particular period)

María Moliner: m. Dep. Resultado al que se llega en un momento determinado de un partido.

Diccionario CLAVE: En algunos deportes, resultado o tanteo al que se llega en un momento determinado del partido: Se llegó al minuto diez de la primera parte con un parcial de 38-29.

Answer 2

I did some research out of curiosity (and boredom), and as far as I can tell "parcial" has no special meaning in sports; it's simply the opposite of "final", something close to "temporary" or "interim". It seems to be used often when talking about sports when they describe the progression of the game.

dio a los Lakers el PARCIAL de 95-96 que iba a ser el decisivo para su equipo

the "interim" score of 95-96, as opposed to the final score

para irse al descanso con la ventaja PARCIAL de 52-48

the 52-48 advantage was "temporary" because it could have (or has) changed after the break

...que certificò su victoria gracias a un parcial de 2-10?

the victory was virtually guaranteed by a large lead before the break

This article has three uses of the word "parcial" and they all seem to agree with this interpretation: http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/nba/deportes/recap'gameId=290523007

Answer 3

Another example of the use of this word, from ElPais.com:

"...que certificò su victoria gracias a un parcial de 2-10..."

In English, from the context, the same meaning would be a una racha or teniendo una racha, (having) a run.

This usage of PARCIAL is apparently common en las noticias de los deportes, even if it isn't in standard dictionaries.

Any other information'

Answer 4

Thanks. I hadn't seen the rest of your reply on my screen, when I wrote my reply.

Answer 5

Thanks on the EE.UU. one.

Any help with Parcial'

Answer 6

It is not EEUU, but EE. UU. In Spanish, when these abbreviations are plural words, the letter is duplicated. For example, Comisiones Obreras es CC. OO. Both "Estados" and "Unidos" are plural, so you get EE. for estados, and UU. for unidos.

I guess they say "una ventaja parcial", because it is not a total advantage, but only for one part of the game. Still, it is an unnecessary word, if you ask me.

"Parcial", in a school, college or university, is an exam which accounts for only part of your final grade. This is in the dictionary.