Estanque

[DailyWord]

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word (http://daily.tomisimo.org/) for April 12, 2009

estanque (masculine noun (el)) — pond, pool, reservoir. Look up estanque in the dictionary (http://www.tomisimo.org/dictionary/spanish_english/estanque)

Vamos al estanque a ver si hay patos allí.
Let's go to the pond and see if there are any ducks there.

[Zwarte Piet]

Well which one is it? Those are all different bodies of water. Does "estanque" refer to simply a relatively small body of water?

[Rusty]

Don't confuse a pool of water with a swimming pool (piscina, alberca (Mex)).

All small bodies of water could be called un estanque.

Here are other translation choices for those words:
pond = laguna (natural), estanque (man-made), charco, charca
pool = charco, charca, estanque
reservoir = embalse, presa, represa, pantano

puddle = charco
the Atlantic Ocean = el charco

[Tomisimo]

Well which one is it? Those are all different bodies of water. Does "estanque" refer to simply a relatively small body of water?
Just as in English, words can have more than one meaning.

An estanque is any kind of man-made or artificial pool (but not a swimming pool), pond, reservoir etc. For example a man-made pond for raising fish or providing water for crops would be an estanque. You could have a small ornamental pool as part of your landscaping and that would be an estanque. You could have a reservoir of water for some purpose and that would be an estanque. If the reservoir is created by a dam, the more specific word presa or represa would probably be preferred. If there is a pond that is not man-made, then it would be a laguna or something else, but not estanque.

So, to sum it up, I would say estanque refers to any man-made body of water, regardless of size and regardless of purpose (utilitarian or ornamental).

I hope that helps explain it.

[Jessica]

wait, what does a reservoir look like, compared to a pond and pool? :thinking:

[Fazor]

wait, what does a reservoir look like, compared to a pond and pool? :thinking:

Well, as I'm familiar with it, a "reservoir" simply means it's a body of water that is stored for a purpose (supply water for an area, for instance). It can be a small pond, if used for a farm, or it can be a large lake.

Typically reservoirs are dammed, so that they can control the level of water.

[Jessica]

oh thanks for the info! ;) :)

[TJtacos]

My dictionary just lists estanque as pond.

I searched through a mexican newspaper for sentences that use this word. I like this one.

Así como un guijarro arrojado a un estanque crea una onda de movimiento circular.
http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/CienciayTecnologia/31102008/337294.aspx