arsenal
“arsenal” means “arsenal” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
arsenal
Also: armory, shipyard
📝 In Action
El ejército mantiene un arsenal moderno.
A2The army maintains a modern arsenal.
La policía confiscó un arsenal de armas ilegales.
B1The police confiscated an arsenal of illegal weapons.
Visitamos el antiguo arsenal naval en Cartagena.
B2We visited the old naval shipyard in Cartagena.
repertoire
Also: array, toolkit
📝 In Action
El delantero tiene un arsenal de regates.
B1The forward has a whole repertoire of dribbles.
Ese médico cuenta con un gran arsenal de tratamientos.
B2That doctor has a wide array of treatments at his disposal.
Necesitas un buen arsenal de argumentos para este debate.
C1You need a good toolkit of arguments for this debate.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: arsenal
Question 1 of 3
Which of these is the most common figurative use of 'arsenal'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
From the Arabic 'dār aṣ-ṣinā‘a', which means 'house of manufacturing' or 'workshop'. It traveled through Italian ('arsenale') before reaching Spanish. Originally, it referred to places where ships were built.
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'arsenal' only used for bad things like weapons?
Not at all! While its literal meaning is military, it is very commonly used positively in sports (a player's skills) or medicine (available treatments).
Does the football club 'Arsenal' have the same meaning?
Yes, the English club was founded by workers at the Royal Arsenal, an armaments factory, which is why their nickname is 'The Gunners'.
How do I pluralize it?
Just add '-es'. One arsenal is 'un arsenal', two are 'dos arsenales'.