Bastón

Bastón
 

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word for December 17, 2008

bastón - masculine noun (el) - cane, staff, walking stick. Look up bastón in the dictionary

Tengo un bastón de madera que mis nietos me regalaron.
I have a wooden cane that my grandchildren gave me.

So, being lazy here what is the difference between ...

bastón

AND

bordón

I've heard many elderly people call their cane as bordón.

:thinking:

I know what your dictionary says has nothing to do with a cane so I was just wondering....

A bordón, according to the dictionary I looked in, is longer than a man and has a metal tip.
It is also the name given to the thicker/est strings on musical instruments.

Longer than a man?????

:thinking::eek::?::confused:

Yes, think of a walking stick of sorts. These can exceed the height of a person.
From the DRAE:
bordón.
(Del b. lat. burdo, -ōnis, mulo, zángano).

1. m. Bastón o palo más alto que la estatura de un hombre, con una punta de hierro y en el medio de la cabeza unos botones que lo adornan.

That's interesting. I never heard of bordón before, but dictionary definitions indicate that it's a staff or a septor-- the kind of stick shepards or Charlton Heston used in those biblical movies they show at Eastertime. It's easy see how the word evolved to mean bastón somewhere along the line.

Are the people that use bordón from a specific region?:thinking:

FWIW, a shepherd's crook is longer than a man.

Mostly older people from rural Mexico.

My view point the wooden is very used for everybody. I think it.

bordón is a name for a walker's or shepherd's crook/staff. It's a tall, big staff.
"bastón" is more used for old people, its 1,2 m (more or less) and as a handle
"bordón" is for sheeping, pilgrimage and so on. But the word it's not so widely know at aws after, the people call them "palo","vara" or "bastón largo"
Look here, it's the best tool for a scout :D
http://espanol.geocities.com/pionero...sos_bordon.htm
Saludos :D