Why is alto in spanish stop signs

Skip to content. Stop the car! Continue Reading. Used before a noun or pronoun 1. To stop someone 2. To stop something. He has my watch. We are here. Tiene mi reloj. Ya llegamos. You would use this word in a verbal conversation with your friends, people that are your same age or you are familiar with.

Same as parar, used before a noun or pronoun 1. Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer. Featured answer. Country or region Mexico. Literal translation for "alto" is stop. You can use "alto" to express a stop in some action, but also, you can use it as an adjective tall. Examples: Alto por favor! Primero la dama. Stop please! Ladie first. Ese chico es muy alto. That guy is very tall Context will give you the idea using the same word.

Read more comments. In some places the red octagon says "Alto," or in other places, the red octagon says, "Pare. Both signs signify for a driver to stop. But, the word "alto" does not traditionally mean stop in Spanish. Parar is the Spanish verb meaning "to stop.

Where did "alto" come from? How did this word end up on Spanish stop signs? Most native Spanish speakers do not know why alto means "stop.

For those with a knowledge of German, a similarity could be drawn between the word alto and the German word Halt. The word Halt in German has the same meaning as the word "halt" in English. According to the Spanish Royal Academy's dictionary , the second reference to alto with "stop" as its meaning is commonly found on road signs in Central America, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, and it comes from the German halt.

The German verb halten means to stop. The dictionary provides a basic etymology of most words, but it does not go into extensive detail or give a date of first use. The sergeant raised his pike high as a signal to stop the column of soldiers from marching.

In this reference, the Italian word for "high" is alto. More credence is given to the Spanish Royal Academy dictionary's meaning, suggesting that alto is a direct borrowing from the German halt. The Italian story sounds more like a folk tale, but the explanation is plausible. The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests that the English word "halt" comes from the s from the French halte or Italian alto , ultimately from the German halt , possibly as a German military term that made its way into the Romance languages.