calzar

Calzar is a Spanish verb with several related senses centered on footwear and fitting. The primary meaning is to put on shoes, boots, or other footwear, or to wear them. For example, one might say that a person “calza” a pair of sneakers or that a certain shoe “calza bien” on the wearer, meaning it fits well. The verb can also describe the act of equipping a person or thing with footwear, or the result of that fitting.

A second sense concerns fitting or sizing: to be the right size or to fit a person or object appropriately. This usage often appears with the perceptible outcome of the shoe or item matching the wearer or the intended fit. In addition to clothing, calzar can describe supplying a horse with horseshoes, as in “calzar un caballo,” which means to shoe the horse.

The reflexive form calzarse means to put on one’s own footwear, typically used with clothes or footwear prepared for going out, as in “me calzo las botas.” Calzar is a regular -ar verb in conjugation, with typical forms such as: presente: calzo, calzas, calza, calzamos, calzáis, calzan; pretérito: calcé, calzaste, calzó, calzamos, calzasteis, calzaron; the other tenses follow standard patterns for -ar verbs.

Etymology traces calzar to older Spanish forms derived from calce or calzado, with links to the Latin calceus, meaning shoe. The noun calzado (“footwear”) is related and widely used to describe the objects that calzar covers.