Equivocó

Equivocó is the pretérito perfecto simple (simple past) form of the Spanish verb equivoc ar, used in the third person singular (él, ella, usted). It indicates that someone made a mistake or, in some contexts, that they misled or confused someone else. It is a transitive verb, so it can take a direct object: for example, “Él equivocó la ruta” means he gave the wrong directions, and “El informe equivocó a los lectores” means the report misled the readers. The reflexive form, me equivoqué, is common and means “I was mistaken” or “I made a mistake.”

Equivocar also has senses related to causing someone else to be mistaken (equivocar a alguien) and to misinterpret or confound information. In everyday use, equivoqué is typically interpreted as making an error oneself when used without a reflexive pronoun, while me equivoqué emphasizes the speaker’s own mistake.

Etymology: the verb derives from the noun/adjective equívoco, meaning ambiguous or mistaken. The term equívoco itself comes from Latin aequivocus or related forms meaning having two meanings; from this lineage arose the sense of error or misinterpretation that fed into the verb equivocar.

Usage notes: equiparally common across Spanish-speaking regions, though speakers may prefer se equivoqué (reflexive) to express personal error. It is related to synonyms like errar, confundir, and to the noun equívoco (a misunderstanding) or the noun/error equivación.

See also: equívoco, equivocación, error, errar, confundir.