el nino

Where does the word "el nino" come from? It comes from Spanish El Nino, and was adopted directly into English (1890s).

El nino’s story begins in Spanish: El Nino meant “the child.” Literally the child, referring to the Christ child, since the warm ocean current typically appears around Christmas. It reached English by 1890s as El Nino. Peruvian fishermen named the warm current 'the Christ Child' because it arrived around Christmas. Today, el nino means a climate pattern marked by periodic warming of central and eastern Pacific waters.

1. Stage 1 · Spanish · 1800s El Nino "the child", literally the child, referring to the Christ child, since the warm ocean current typically appears around Christmas.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1890s El Nino "a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures", Peruvian fishermen named the warm current 'the Christ Child' because it arrived around Christmas.