The velvet clouds...

I have a favorite song called "Si Nos Dejan" that was written and performed by a famous Guanajuato native named José Alfredo Jiménez. In this song I have a favorite word. The word is "terciopelo" (tehr-see-oh-PAY-loh) which means "velvet". In this song two lovers are seeking to build a love nest close to Heaven and they sing "Hacemos con las nubes terciopelo" or "We'll make it with the velvet clouds". I like singing the word "terciopleo" because it lends itself to great emotion in combination with the music and I can really belt it out. However, I always wondered why the word for velvet in Spanish is so different from the English word "velvet" or the French word "velours". Now I know why and I am going to share it with you.

It is because the word in English and Spanish has a completely different etymology. The English and French "velvet" and "velours" derive from the Old French "veluotte" which in turn comes from the Latin word "villus" which means "tuft or growth of hair". The Spanish word "terciopelo" is a descriptive word relating to the art of weaving. The weaving process for velvet involves weaving two pieces of fabric face to face and then cutting them apart. It is a bit complicated to explain so I won't go into the process in great detail. Nevertheless, in the normal fabric weaving process there is a group of threads called the "warp" that run lengthwise and a group of threads called the "woof" that run crosswise. In the velvet weaving process, two warps and one woof are used. The Spanish word for "woof" is "la trama". It comes from the verb "tramar" meaning "to weave". The trama in weaving terciopelo is called "el primer hilo" or "the first thread". Note that "hilo" is pronounced "EE-loh". The Spanish word for "woof" is "urdimbre" (uhr-DEEM-bray) and for weaving terciopelo it is known as "el hilo segundo" or "the second thread. The third thread which is also a warp thread and forms what we call the "pile" of the velvet in English is called the "tercer pelo" in Spanish or "third fur". The word "pelo" can refer hair on humans or fur on animals but it can also mean the "nap" or "pile" of a fabric or carpet. Finally from "tercer pelo" we get the word "tercioplelo". Amazing, isn't it? I wonder if Bobby Vinton knows that?