Word of the Day

raciones

Raciones

Spanish

Modern Spanish (Castilian)/raˈθjo.nes/Latin origin/ˈra.ti.oː/
Spain's grandest bar portions trace back to Roman accounting.

The Latin word ratio meant a reckoning or calculation, and by extension, a measured portion allotted to a soldier or worker. Roman legions posted across Hispania received their daily ratio of grain, oil, and salted fish. When those soldiers retired and settled into Iberian towns, their word for a measured share lodged in the local speech.

4 stops · from Rome to Madrid

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