Spanjaard

Spanjaard is a historical demonym used in Dutch and Afrikaans to refer to a person from Spain, i.e., a Spaniard. The word is formed from Spanje, the Dutch name for Spain, with the agent-noun suffix -aard. In contemporary Dutch the standard demonym for a person from Spain is Spaniër, while Spanjaard is now mostly found in older texts and in Afrikaans contexts.

Historically, the term appears in maritime, travel, and colonial literature dating from the Dutch Golden Age, where it was used to identify Spanish sailors, merchants, or officials encountered or employed by Dutch traders and settlers. It also occurs in various administrative and legal documents from that period.

Beyond its historical usage, Spanjaard exists as a surname in Dutch- and Afrikaans-speaking communities. In modern language, the word may carry archaic or regional connotations, and in many contexts it is recognized primarily as a historical or genealogical term rather than a current everyday designation.

See also Spaniard; Spaniër; Afrikaans language and Dutch language.