ganado
“ganado” means “livestock” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
livestock, cattle
Also: herd
📝 In Action
El granjero vendió todo su ganado en la feria de primavera.
B1The farmer sold all his livestock at the spring fair.
Cuidar el ganado es un trabajo duro que requiere madrugar.
B2Taking care of the cattle is hard work that requires getting up early.
won, earned
Also: gained
📝 In Action
Hemos ganado el partido por dos puntos.
A1We have won the game by two points.
Es el dinero que has ganado con tu esfuerzo.
A2It is the money that you have earned with your effort.
La medalla ganada era de oro.
B1The medal won was gold. (Here, it acts like an adjective)
Vocabulary Collections
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: ganado
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence correctly uses 'ganado' referring to farm animals?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
The noun 'ganado' comes directly from the past participle of the verb 'ganar.' The verb 'ganar' originated from a Germanic root, possibly related to the idea of 'pasture land' or 'gaining advantage,' which is why it covers both earning/winning and farm animals.
First recorded: 13th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'ganado' mean both 'won' and 'cattle'?
This is a case where the same root word developed two very different meanings. The verb 'ganar' means 'to gain' or 'to acquire.' In the context of farming centuries ago, the most important thing to acquire and gain was valuable livestock, so the noun 'ganado' came to mean the animals themselves.
Is 'ganado' always masculine, even if I'm talking about female cows?
Yes, when 'ganado' means 'livestock' collectively, it is always masculine ('el ganado'). If you refer to individual animals, you would use feminine words like 'la vaca' (the cow) or 'la oveja' (the sheep).