Wednesday 26 February 2014

Acción

Today's WOTD is: "acción" = action


1. In Spanish, “acción” is a feminine noun of Latin origin, the main meaning of which is action, as in:
  • La gente pide más acción (people are asking for more action);
  • Al gritó de, “¡acción!”, se comienza a rodar (at the shout of, “action!”, the filming begins);




2. The noun “acción” is also used often to mean effect, as in:
  • Sometido a la acción del agua, el asfalto quedó destrozado (under the effect of water, the tarmac was destroyed);


3. The noun “acción” may also be used to refer to stock/ shares, as in:
  • Tenemos acciones de esa empresa (we have shares in that company);


4. A related word is the noun “accionista”, which means shareholder, as in:
  • Esa empresa sólo tiene grandes accionistas (that company has only large shareholders);


5. A related action word/ verb is “accionar”, the main meaning of which is to activate.
  • Primero accionamos el mecanismo de arranque (firstly we activated the start up mechanism);


6. Some expressions in Spanish with the word “acción” are:
  • Acción de gracias (Thanksgiving);
  • Acción social* (social action);
    • Se destina una gran cantidad de recursos a la acción social (a great deal of resources are set aside for community projects);
  • Buena acción (good deed);
    • Acabo de hacer mi buena acción del día (I have just done my good deed of the day);
  • De acción (action -adjective*);
    • Es una película de acción (it is an action film);
  • Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving day);
  • En plena acción (in the act/ red handed);
    • Fueron sorprendidos en plena acción (they were caught in the act);
  • Entrar en acción (to go into action);
    • Las fuerzas especiales entraron en acción (the special forces went into action);
  • Esfera de acción (sphere of action);
  • Hombre de acción (man of action);
    • Modelo ejemplar del hombre de acción (the epitome of a man of action);
  • Mala acción (wrongdoing);
    • Pedro es incapaz de una mala acción (Pedro would never do anything bad);
  • Opción sobre acciones (share option/ stock option);
    • Las opciones sobre acciones son un incentivo más para los directivos (stock/ share options are an additional incentive for management/ executives);
  • Paquete de acciones (shareholding);
    • Hemos conseguido adquirir un paquete de acciones considerable (we have managed to acquire a considerable shareholding);
  • Radio de acción (range);
    • Este teclado inalámbrico tiene un radio de acción de 10 metros (this wireless keyboard has a 10 metre range);
  • Sindicación de acciones (shares syndication);
*NB In Spanish, “acción social” is often used to refer to social/ political activism. It usually refers to activities with a significant social impact. It is also very often used to refer to the philantropic involvement of businesses in the community, supporting cultural activities or activities aimed at disadvantaged members of society.

**NB Often used to describe a film, a novel, etc.


Love-Spanish.com loves the word "acción" in the YouTube clip: Thalia - Accion Y Reaccion


For more on the word "acción", visit: Aordreference.com/es/en/ Acción*

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “acción” in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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