cuerpo

Inherited from Old Spanish cuerpo, from Latin corpus, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱrep-. Doublet of the borrowing corpus.

(military, law enforcement) corps, force (e.g. army corps, police force)


cana

Borrowed from Lunfardo [Term?], a slang term for police.

Que nos callásemos, que va a mandar a la policía.
-¡La policía no ! -dice Azucena- ¡ Rajemos chicas , que viene la cana ... !

1972, Osvaldo Guglielmino, Las leguas amargas:

(Argentina, Uruguay) police force, police department


cuarto

→ Tagalog: kuwarto

From Latin quartus. Doublet of cuarta. The sense of room is after a common division of houses (4 or 5 sections). As a unit of English measure, calque of English quart. Compare English quarter.

fourth, quarter (one of four equal divisions of a whole)

(historical) cuarto, quarter-sack (a traditional unit of dry measure equal to ¹⁄₄ saco, equivalent to about 27.8 L)

(genealogy) line, lineage (any of the four main lines of ancestry through one's various grandparents)

(historical) cuarto (a former copper Spanish coin)


identikit

(Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) identikit, police sketch, composite sketch, facial composite


detective

es-noun

detective m or f by sense (plural detectives, feminine detective or detectiva, feminine plural detectives or detectivas)

detectives (plural)
detective (feminine)
detectiva (feminine)
detectives (feminine plural)
detectivas (feminine plural)


paco

Of unclear origin. Possibly a shortening of pasta de cocaína, or a corruption of basuco (“cocaine paste”).


policía

From Latin politīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía).

police, police department, police force, police service


bombero

bombero m (plural bomberos, feminine bombera, feminine plural bomberas)

bomberos (plural)
bombera (feminine)
bomberas (feminine plural)


prisionero

prisionero m (plural prisioneros, feminine prisionera, feminine plural prisioneras)

prisioneros (plural)
prisionera (feminine)
prisioneras (feminine plural)


prisión

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin prehēnsiōnem. Cf. French prison, Portuguese prisão. Doublet of prensión.

slbor

prison (a place or institution of confinement, especially of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government)


intendente

es-noun

intendente m or f by sense (plural intendentes, feminine intendente or intendenta, feminine plural intendentes or intendentas)

intendentes (plural)
intendente (feminine)
intendenta (feminine)
intendentes (feminine plural)
intendentas (feminine plural)

Borrowed from the French intendant, introduced by the common Bourbon dynasty for various functions.

(Ecuador, Mexico, law enforcement) inspector


gendarme

gendarme m or f by sense (plural gendarmes)


puerco

puerco m (plural puercos, feminine puerca, feminine plural puercas)

puercos (plural)
puerca (feminine)
puercas (feminine plural)

Inherited from Old Spanish puerco, from Latin porcus, from Proto-Italic *porkos, from Proto-Indo-European *pórḱos (“young swine, young pig”).
The "police officer" slang sense is apparently a semantic loan from English pig.


cabo

Inherited from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-. Doublet of jefe and chef.

(law enforcement) sergeant (highest rank of noncommissioned officer)


comisario

es-noun

comisario m (plural comisarios, feminine comisaria, feminine plural comisarias)

comisarios (plural)
comisaria (feminine)
comisarias (feminine plural)


tecolote

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl tecolōtl.


lechera

*From Latin lactārius, corresponding to leche + -era.
*(police van): Because the first vans used by the Spanish police in the 1970s were also identical models to those used for delivering milk. Another reason is that the riot police officers came out of the vans distributing leches (“bumps, blows, smacks”).

(Spain, colloquial) anti-riot police van


helada

From Early Medieval Latin gelāta, derived from Latin gelāre (“freeze”). By surface analysis, helar + -ada.


faraón

es-noun

faraón m (plural faraones, feminine faraona, feminine plural faraonas)

faraones (plural)
faraona (feminine)
faraonas (feminine plural)

From Old Spanish pharaon, from Late Latin Pharaōnem, from Ancient Greek φαραώ (pharaṓ), from Hebrew פַּרְעֹה (par‘ōh), from Egyptian pr-ꜥꜣ (“great house”), pr:aA


pitufo

pitufo m (plural pitufos, feminine pitufa, feminine plural pitufas)

pitufos (plural)
pitufa (feminine)
pitufas (feminine plural)

Named after Patufet, a child character in Catalan folklore.
The bread rolls sense comes from a comparison to the small size of the smurfs, a popular cartoon at the time.

(Andalusia, Málaga) Small bread rolls, approximately 60g, 10 to 12 cm long and 6 or 7 cm wide.


prisionero de guerra

prisionero de guerra m (plural prisioneros de guerra, feminine prisionera de guerra, feminine plural prisioneras de guerra)

prisioneros de guerra (plural)
prisionera de guerra (feminine)
prisioneras de guerra (feminine plural)


Ertzaintza

[eɾˈt͡ʃãnʲ.t͡ʃa]

[eɾˈt͡ʃãĩnʲ.t͡ʃa]

the police force of the Basque Country, Spain


hidrante

[iˈð̞ɾãn̪.t̪e]

fire hydrant (a device used by firefighters to obtain water from the main supply)


Mozos de Escuadra

los Mozos de Escuadra (canonical masculine plural)

Calque of Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra (literally “team officers”).

calque

Mossos d'Esquadra (the police force of Catalonia)


contraterrorista

es-adj

contraterrorista m or f (masculine and feminine plural contraterroristas)

contraterroristas (feminine masculine plural)

(law enforcement, military) antiterrorist (counteracting terrorism)


tómbolo

De entre los accidentes geográficos, el tómbolo destaca por su esbeltez: una lengua de arena o istmo que –solo en bajamar si le rodea el Atlántico- permite llegar a una franja de tierra.

2015 November 4, “Diez hábitats costeros únicos en España”, in El País:


prisión provisional

es-noun

prisión provisional f (plural prisiones provisionales)

preventive detention
preventive detention


coche de bomberos

coche de bomberos m (plural coches de bomberos)


manguera de incendios

manguera de incendios f (plural mangueras de incendios)

[mãŋˌɡe.ɾa ð̞e ĩn̟ˈθẽn̪.d̪jos]

fire hose (hose designed to deliver water to douse a fire)