Echó

Echó is a form of the Spanish verb echar. Specifically, it is the third-person singular preterite (simple past) indicative form, used to indicate a completed action in the past: él echó la pelota, ella echó agua en el vaso. The accent on the final syllable marks the past tense and distinguishes echó from other present-tense forms such as echo (yo echo, I throw) or echa (él/ella/usted echa, he/she throws).

Echar is a versatile verb with several related senses. Its most common meaning is to throw or cast something, but it can also mean to pour liquids, to add ingredients, or to expel or dismiss someone. It appears in numerous idiomatic expressions, including echar la culpa (to blame), echar de menos (to miss someone), echar raíces (to settle down), and echar a andar (to start or set in motion). In narrative past tense, echó is used with different subjects to describe actions that were completed.

Etymology traces echar to Latin iacere or iacio, meaning to throw. Over time, the verb broadened to cover throwing, pouring, adding, and related actions in Spanish. The past tense echó is a regular preterite form for this -ar verb, marked by the acute accent on the final syllable to signal the stress pattern of the past tense.

In summary, echó denotes a completed past action of echar in the third-person singular, with broad usage across literal and figurative meanings in everyday Spanish. Related forms include echo (present tense) and echa (present third person).