subrayar

Subrayar is a Spanish verb meaning to place a line underneath text to emphasize it, or to highlight words. It can be used literally—drawing a line beneath written material with a pen or ruler—and figuratively, to stress an idea or point in speech or writing, as in subrayar la importancia de algo.

Origin and related terms: The word comes from sub- meaning under and rayar meaning to scratch or draw lines; the noun subrayado denotes the resulting underline. Related verbs include enfatizar, destacar, or remarcar, which convey emphasis without physical marking.

Contexts and usage: In education, students subrayan conceptos clave. In typography and publishing, underlining has historic use for emphasis; modern practice often prefers bold or italics for that purpose, reserving subrayado for specific styles or accessibility needs. In computing, underline is a common text attribute; in HTML, underline can be produced with the u element or with CSS text-decoration: underline. The choice to underline can affect readability and accessibility, especially on screens, where excessive underlining may be confusing with hyperlinks.