escala

Escala is a term used in several Romance languages, notably Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, with meanings tied to ideas of progression, order, and measurement. The word derives from Latin scala, meaning ladder or stair, a sense that extended to more abstract scales.

In music, una escala musical is a sequence of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order, such as the major or natural minor scales. Scales provide the framework for melodies and harmonies and are fundamental to tonal systems.

In cartography and technical drawing, la escala denotes the ratio that converts measurements on a map or plan to real-world distances, commonly expressed as 1:50,000 or similar fractions. Scales determine how much detail is reproduced on a representation.

In travel and transportation, hacer escala refers to a stopover or layover during a journey, often in a city other than the final destination.

In everyday language, escala can mean a staircase or flight of steps, as well as a graduated series or level. Examples include escala de colores (color scale), escala de temperatura (temperature scale), and escala de intensidad (intensity scale). In medicine and evaluation, scales are used to quantify phenomena such as pain (escala de dolor) or degrees of severity and quality.

Summary: escala is a versatile term that spans music, representation and measurement, travel, architecture, and qualitative assessment, all linked by the core idea of progression, ordering, and quantification.