Today’s Spanish word of the day is “par”.
It’s a masculine noun that usually translates as “pair” or “couple”.
It can also translate as the identically spelled English word “par” when it’s used to describe something being under, over or at par with something else.
The word “par” comes from Latin par, meaning “equal”. This is the root of both the English words “pair” and “par”. The reason “pair” has a different spelling and usage to “par” is that it entered English via the French word “paire” in the 13th century, whereas “par” was adopted directly from Latin in the 17th century.
The Spanish word “par” also means “even” when talking about numbers. The word for “odd” in the context of numbers is “impar”.
Example sentences
Compré un par de zapatos nuevos.
I bought a pair of new shoes.
Dos es un número par.
Two is an even number.
Necesito un par de minutos más para terminar.
I need a couple more minutes to finish.
El golfista hizo un par en el hoyo cinco.
The golfer made par on hole five.
El país está a la par con sus vecinos en desarrollo económico.
The country is on par with its neighbors in economic development.
