Estanque

Estanque
 

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word for April 12, 2009

estanque (masculine noun (el)) — pond, pool, reservoir. Look up estanque in the dictionary

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

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

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

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.

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.

oh thanks for the info! ;) :)

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/EdicionEnLi...08/337294.aspx