profano

Carlos es ateo, pero jamás usaría palabras profanas cuando habla de tu religión.Carlos is an atheist, but he would never use irreverent words to talk about your religion.

b. profane

Un grupo de hombres profanos destrozaron maliciosamente la parroquia.A bunch of profane men vandalized the parish.

3. (inexperienced)

a. uninitiated

En ese entonces yo era profano y todavía no tenía mucha experiencia.I was uninitiated and didn't have much experience back then.

b. ignorant

Lamento no poder ayudarte. Soy profano en contabilidad.I'm sorry that I can't help you. I'm ignorant when it comes to accounting.

This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.

no direct translation

Aunque sea profano, puedo ver el problema del plan.Even though I'm no expert, I can see the flaw in the plan.

Yo soy profano en informática, pero mi hermana es una experta.I'm a layman when it comes to computing, but my sister is an expert.

This means that the noun can be masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of person it refers to (e.g. el doctor, la doctora).

masculine or feminine noun

4. (inexperienced person)

a. layman (masculine)

Mi amigo es un profano pero siempre hace todo el ritual de la cata del vino como si fuera un experto.My friend is a layman but he always does the entire ritual of wine tasting as though he were an expert.

b. laywoman (feminine)

Fernanda es una profana y no podría discernir entre un Picasso y un Van Gogh.Fernanda is a laywoman and couldn't tell a Picasso from a Van Gogh.

c. layperson

"Hay muchos profanos en este teatro que no entienden nada sobre ópera", se quejó Ágata."There are many laypeople in this theater who don't understand a thing about opera," complained Agata.

d. lay person

La charla fue interesante tanto para los especialistas como para los profanos.The lecture was interesting for both experts and lay people.

profano

An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g. the big dog).

adjective

1. (no sagrado)

a. profane, secular

2. (ignorante)

a. ignorant, uninitiated

A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling or idea (e.g. man, dog, house).

Noun

3. (hombre)

a. layman, lay person

4. (mujer)

a. laywoman, lay person

profanoa profana

adjective

1 (laico) profane; secular

2 (irrespetuoso) irreverent

3 (no experto) lay; uninitiated; (ignorante) ignorant

soy profano en la materia I don't know anything about the subject; soy profano en música I don't know anything about music; I'm a layman when it comes to music

4 (deshonesto) indecent; immodest

(inexperto) layman/laywoman; (ajeno) outsider;

Collins Complete Spanish Electronic Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

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