Hacker News Reader

What is the relationship between the word "toro" (bull in Spanish) and lawnmowers?

This site [1] claims to be a Spanish dictionary and it doesn't agree, it claims the word is "la cortadora de césped".

I guess it's possible that the word has become a generic trademark [2] like Kleenex, since of course (?) Toro [3] is a brand of lawnmowers and other equipment.

Edit: switching Toro's site to Spanish [4] shows that they at least use the term consistent with [1], which seems to add credibility. :)

[1]: https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/lawnmower

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark

[3]: https://www.toro.com/en

[4]: https://www.toro.com/es-es/homeowner/walk-behind-mowers

Spanish and English usually merge in fun, unpredictable ways. In certain parts of Andalusia people refer to electrical drills as "el guarrito" (the little pig). Turns out it's because there was a drill brand called "Warrington", hence the mix.

Nice, that would be a plausible explanation.

Just for fun, here's the definition of "toro" in Spanish-speaking countries [1]:

- Bull. - Strong, well-built man. - Forklift. - (In plural) Bullfight.

- Trim (as in a trim part of a car bodywork). - Torus.

[1] https://dle.rae.es/toro

Sounds to me like a joke. As in: bulls eat grass.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com