resfriar

Resfriar is a verb used in Spanish and Portuguese with two main senses. In the temperature sense, it means to lower the temperature of a substance or to make something cooler. It is used transitively, as in “resfriar la bebida” or “resfriar la sopa.” In many contexts, however, people prefer the synonym enfriar to describe cooling in everyday speech.

In the health sense, resfriar can refer to becoming ill with a cold, especially in Spanish where the reflexive form resfriarse is common. Phrases like “me resfrié” or “se resfriará” are used to indicate catching a cold. In Portuguese, the illness sense is usually expressed with constructions such as “ficar resfriado” or “pegar resfriado.” The noun resfriado refers to the common cold.

Etymology: the verb derives from Romance roots related to cold, with prefixes that mark the action. It is linked to the same semantic field as other verbs formed from frigidus/frio (cold) in Latin and evolved forms in the Romance languages.

Usage notes: when referring to cooling, many dialects prefer enfriar as the standard term, while resfriar appears in contexts emphasizing a cooling process or lower temperatures. For illness, reflexive resfriarse is widely used in Spanish; in Portuguese, the equivalent constructions with ficar or pegar resfriado are common.

See also: resfriado, resfriamiento, enfriar, refrigerar.